Householders and Non-dualism

Self-Knowledge is discussed in the Ashtāvakra Samhitā. The non-dualists say, 'Soham', that is, 'I am the Supreme Self.' This is the view of the sannyasis of the Vedantic school. But this is not the right attitude for householders, who are conscious of doing everything themselves. That being so, how can they declare, 'I am That, the actionless Supreme Self'? 

According to the non-dualists the Self is unattached. Good and bad, virtue and vice, and the other pairs of opposites, cannot in any way injure the Self, though they undoubtedly afflict those who have identified themselves with their bodies. Smoke soils the wall, certainly, but it cannot in any way affect Ākāśa, space.  … …

But to feel that one is a free soul is very good. By constantly repeating, 'I am free, I am free', a man verily becomes free. On the other hand, by constantly repeating, 'I am bound, I am bound', he certainly becomes bound to worldliness. The fool who says only, 'I am a sinner, I am a sinner', verily drowns himself in worldliness. One should rather say: I have chanted the name of God. How can I be a sinner? How can I be bound?' 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 274 (19 August 1883)

Saturated with God

 

Yogamaya

GOVINDA: "What is the meaning of 'yogamaya'?" 

MASTER: "It signifies the yoga, or union, of Purusha and Prakriti. Whatever you perceive in the universe is the outcome of this union. 

Take the image of Śiva and Kāli. Kāli stands on the bosom of Śiva; Śiva lies under Her feet like a corpse; Kāli looks at Śiva. All this denotes the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is inactive; therefore Śiva lies on the ground like a corpse. Prakriti performs all Her activities in conjunction with Purusha. Thus She creates, preserves, and destroys. That is also the meaning of the conjoined images of Radha and Krishna. On account of that union, again, the images are slightly inclined toward each other. 

To denote this union, Sri Krishna wears a pearl in His nose, Radha a blue stone in hers. Radha has a fair complexion, bright as the pearl. Sri Krishna's is blue. For this reason Radha wears the blue stone. Further, Krishna's apparel is yellow, and Radha's blue. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 271 

                      (22 July 1883)

Realization Possible for All

 

Different States of Bhakti

Bhakti matured becomes bhava. Next is mahabhava, then prema, and last of all is the attainment of God. Gaurānga experienced the states of mahabhava and prema. 

When prema is awakened, a devotee completely forgets the world; he also forgets his body, which is so dear to a man. Gaurānga experienced prema. He jumped into the ocean, thinking it to be the Jamuna. 

The ordinary jiva does not experience mahabhava or prema. He goes only as far as bhava. But Gaurānga experienced all three states.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 255 (18 June 1883)

Nitya and Lila

 

Black complexion of the Divine Mother

GOVINDA: "Revered sir, why does the Divine Mother have a black complexion?" 

MASTER: "You see Her as black because you are far away from Her. Go near and you will find Her devoid of all colour. The water of a lake appears black from a distance. Go near and take the water in your hand, and you will see that it has no colour at all. Similarly, the sky looks blue from a distance. But look at the atmosphere near you; it has no colour. 

The nearer you come to God, the more you will realize that He has neither name nor form. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 271 

                            (22 July 1883)

Ideal of the Gitā

 

Bitterly Contested Suit

He [Sri Ramakrishna] sang: 

               Mother, am I Thine eight-months child? 

                                 Thy red eyes cannot frighten me! 

              My riches are Thy Lotus Feet, which Śiva 

                                              holds upon His breast; 

               Yet, when I seek my heritage, I meet with 

                                                excuses and delays. 

              A deed of gift I hold in my heart, attested 

                                              by Thy Husband Śiva; 

               I shall sue Thee, if I must, and with 

                                              a single point shall win. 

                If Thou dost oppose me, Thou wilt learn what 

                                             sort of mother's son I am. 

              This bitterly contested suit between 

                                          the Mother and Her son- 

              What sport it is! says Ramprasad.  I shall not 

                                         cease tormenting Thee 

               Till Thou Thyself, shalt yield the fight and 

                                          take me in Thine arms at last. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 263 

                       (21 July 1883)

Who is a Devotee?

 

Everything is Possible for God

M: "I haven't much faith in rebirth and inherited tendencies. Will that in any way injure my devotion to God?" 

MASTER: "It is enough to believe that all is possible in God's creation. Never allow the thought to  cross  your mind  that your  ideas are  the  only  true  ones,  and  that those  of others are false. Then God will explain everything. 

"What can a man understand of God's activities? The facets of God's creation are infinite. I do not try to understand God's actions at all. I have heard that everything is possible in God's creation, and I always bear that in mind. Therefore I do not give a thought to the world, but meditate on God alone. 

Once Hanuman was asked, 'What day of the lunar month is it?' Hanuman said: 'I don't know anything about the day of the month, the position of the moon and stars, or any such things. I think of Rāma alone.' 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 260 (21 July 1883) 

Essence of the Scriptures

 

Result of Yoga through Bhakti

The upshot of the whole thing is that, no matter what path you follow, yoga is impossible unless the mind becomes quiet. 

The mind of a yogi is under his control; he is not under the control of his mind. When the mind is quiet the prana stops functioning. Then one gets kumbhaka. One may have the same kumbhaka through bhaktiyoga as well; the prana stops functioning through love of God too. 

In the kirtan the musician sings, 'Nitai amar mata hati!' Repeating this, he goes into a spiritual mood and cannot sing the whole sentence. He simply sings, 'Hati! Hati' When the mood deepens he sings only, 'Ha! Ha!' Thus his prana stops through ecstasy, and kumbhaka follows.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 248 

                      (15 June 1883)

Love of God

 

Name of God

 

Hindus and Muslims

This [i.e. Sri Ramakrishna’s Islam sadhana and realization] indicates that only through the Vedantic knowledge of oneness can the Hindus and Muslims of India become sympathetic towards one another and feel as though they are one family. 

As the Master used to say: ‘There exists, as it were, a mountain of a barrier between Hindus and Muslims. Their modes of thinking, religious faith, actions, and behaviour have remained incomprehensible to each other despite their living together for such a long period.’ 

Does the Master’s Islamic sadhana indicate that one day that mountain-high barrier will disappear and Hindus and Muslims will embrace each other in love? 

- Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 320

Mudfish

 

Water and Waves

'I am He', 'I am the Pure Self' - that is the conclusion of the jnanis. But the bhaktas say, 'The whole universe is the glory of God.' 

Who would recognize a wealthy man without his power and riches? But it is quite different when God Himself, gratified by the aspirant's devotion, says to him, 'You are the same as Myself.' Suppose a king is seated in his court, and his cook enters the hall, sits on the throne, and says, 'O King, you and I are the same!' People will certainly call him a madman. But suppose one day the king, pleased with the cook's service, says to him: 'Come, sit beside me. There is nothing wrong in that. There is no difference between you and me.' Then, if the cook sits on the throne with the king, there is no harm in it.  

It is not good for ordinary people to say, 'I am He'. The waves belong to the water. Does the water belong to the waves?  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 248 

                      (15 June 1883)

As Many Faiths, So Many Paths

Established in the non-dual state, the Master experienced another truth also. 

He discovered that the ultimate goal of all spiritual disciplines is to become firmly established in non-duality. After performing sadhana according to the main religious denominations prevalent in India, he observed that each one of them led the aspirant towards the nondual plane. 

When we asked about the nondual state, he told us repeatedly: “It is the last word, my child, the culmination of sadhana. At the ultimate development of love for God, this nondual experience manifests spontaneously in the life of all aspirants. Know it to be the goal of all faiths; and as many faiths, so many paths.” 

- Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 318

Mahabhava

 

Traits of a True Devotee

 

Awakening of the Kundalini

 

Seven Planes of the Vedas

There is much similarity between the seven 'planes' described in the Vedānta and the six 'centres' of Yoga. 

The first three planes of the Vedas may be compared to the first three Yogic centres, namely, Muladhara, Svadhisthana, and Manipura. With ordinary people the mind dwells in these three planes, at the organs of evacuation and generation and at the navel. When the mind ascends to the fourth plane, the centre designated in Yoga as Anahata, it sees the individual soul as a flame. Besides, it sees light. At this the aspirant cries: 'Ah! What is this? Ah! What is this?'  

When the mind rises to the fifth plane, the aspirant wants to hear only about God. This is the Visuddha centre of Yoga. The sixth plane and the centre known by the yogi as Ajna are one and the same. When the mind rises there, the aspirant sees God. But still there is a barrier between God and the devotee. It is like the barrier of glass in a lantern, which keeps one from touching the light. King Janaka used to give instruction about Brahmajnana from the fifth plane. Sometimes he dwelt on the fifth plane, and sometimes on the sixth. 

After passing the six centres the aspirant arrives at the seventh plane. Reaching it, the mind merges in Brahman. The individual soul and the Supreme Soul become one. The aspirant goes into samadhi. His consciousness of the body disappears. He loses the knowledge of the outer world. He does not see the manifold any more. His reasoning comes to a stop.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 245 

                       (10 June 1883)

'Mansion of Mirth'

 … the Bhakti scriptures describe this very world as a 'mansion of mirth'. Ramprasad sang in one of his songs, 'This world is a framework of illusion.' Another devotee gave the reply, 'This very world is a mansion of mirth.' 

As the saying goes, 'The devotee of Kali, free while living, is full of Eternal Bliss.' The bhakta sees that He who is God has also become maya. Again, He Himself has become the universe and all its living beings. The bhakta sees God, maya, the universe, and the living beings as one. Some devotees see everything as Rāma: it is Rāma alone who has become everything. 

Some see everything as Radha and Krishna. To them it is Krishna alone who has become the twenty-four cosmic principles.  It is like seeing everything green through green glasses.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 243 

                    (10 June 1883)

Faith

The devotees from Manirampur asked the Master how to realize God. 

MASTER: "You must practise spiritual discipline a little. It will not do simply to say that milk contains butter. You must let the milk set into curd and then churn it. Only then can you get butter from it. Spiritual aspirants must go into solitude now and then. After acquiring love of God in solitude, they may live in the world. If one is wearing a pair of shoes, one can easily walk over thorns. 

            The most important thing is faith. 

           As is a man's meditation, so is his feeling of love; 

           As is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain; 

  And faith is the root of all.

If one has faith one has nothing to fear."  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 241 

                   (10 June 1883)

Chaitanya’s States

 

'Framework of Illusion'

There are two schools of thought: the Vedānta and the Purana. 

According to the Vedānta this world is a 'framework of illusion', that is to say, it is all illusory, like a dream. 

But according to the Purana, the books of devotion, God Himself has become the twenty-four cosmic principles. Worship God both within and without. 

As long as God keeps the awareness of 'I' in us, so long do sense-objects exist; and we cannot very well speak of the world as a dream. 

There is fire in the hearth; therefore the rice and pulse and potatoes and the other vegetables jump about in the pot. They jump about as if to say: 'We are here! We are jumping!' 

This body is the pot. The mind and intelligence are the water. The objects of the senses are the rice, potatoes, and other vegetables. The 'I-consciousness' identified with the senses says, 'I am jumping about.' 

And Satchidananda is the fire.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 243 

                       (10 June 1883)

Radha’s Mahabhava

Paths of Love and Knowledge

Knowledge and love - both are paths leading to God. 

Those who follow the path of love have to observe a little more outer purity. But the violation of this by a man following the path of knowledge cannot injure him. It is destroyed in the fire of knowledge. Even a banana tree is burnt up when it is thrown into a roaring fire.

The jnanis follow the path of discrimination. Sometimes it happens that, discriminating between the Real and the unreal, a man loses his faith in the existence of God. But a devotee who sincerely yearns for God does not give up his meditation even though he is invaded by atheistic ideas. A man whose father and grandfather have been farmers continues his farming even though he doesn't get any crop in a year of drought.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 238 

                      (5 June 1883)

Parable of the Farmer

It was about five o'clock in the afternoon. Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the steps of his verandah. Hazra, Rākhāl, and M. were near him. Hazra had the attitude of a Vedantist: "I am He." 

MASTER (to Hazra): "Yes, all one's confusion comes to an end if one only realizes that it is God who manifests Himself as the atheist and the believer, the good and the bad, the real and the unreal; that it is He who is present in waking and in sleep; and that He is beyond all these.

 

"There was a farmer to whom an only son was born when he was rather advanced in age. As the child grew up, his parents became very fond of him. One day the farmer was out working in the fields, when a neighbor told him that his son was dangerously ill-indeed, at the point of death. Returning home he found the boy dead. His wife wept bitterly, but his own eyes remained dry. Sadly the wife said to her ncighbors, 'Such a son  has  passed  away,  and  he  hasn't  even  one  tear  to  shed!' 

After a long while the farmer said to his wife: 'Do you know why I am not crying? Last night I dreamt I had become a king, and the father of seven princes. These princes were beautiful as well as virtuous. They grew in stature and acquired wisdom and knowledge in the various arts. Suddenly I woke up. Now I have been wondering whether I should weep for those seven children or this one boy.' 

To the jnanis the waking state is no more real than the dream state. 

"God alone is the Doer.  Everything happens by His will."  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 236 

                           (5 June 1883)

‘Condensed Milk'