Karma-Yoga

The action of a sattvic person drops off automatically. He can not work even if he tries to; the Lord does not allow him to work. It is just as when a young wife advances in pregnancy. She is given less and less work to do; and when the child is born, she gives up household work altogether and is busied exclusively with the infant. 

But an ordinary person must try to do his duties with detachment, depending on the Lord, like the maidservant who does everything for her master, knowing in her heart that her home is elsewhere. This is known as karma-yoga. 

As far as possible one should take the name of the Lord and meditate on Him while discharging one’s everyday duties in an unattached way. 

             - Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P362

Real and Supreme Renunciation

 

Milk and Water

 

Spiritual Pandits Opinions

During three important periods of Master’s sadhana, three eminent spiritual pandits who were well versed in scriptures came to him, observed his spiritual condition, and had the opportunity to discuss their impressions. 

Pandit Padmalochan met the Master when he had become perfected in the Tantra sadhana; Pandit Vaishnavacharan met him when he had attained success in the Vaishnava Tantra; and Pandit Gauri was blessed to see the Master endowed with divine splendour at the completion of all his sadhanas. 

When Padmalochan saw the Master, he said, “I see God’s presence and divine power in you.” Vaishnavacharan, in ecstasy, composed a hymn to the Master in Sanskrit and sang it to him, declaring him to be an avatar. When Gauri met the Master, he concluded: “I see that everything that I have read in the scriptures concerning high spiritual states is manifest in you. In addition, I see other exalted states that are not recorded in the scriptures. You have reached a spiritual plane that surpasses anything described in the Vedas, Vedanta, or other scriptures. You are not human. Ishwara, the source of all avatars, dwells in you.” 

When we study the Master’s unique life and his wonderful spiritual experiences, we clearly understand that these spiritual pandits did not make their remarks out of mere flattery. 

             - Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P362

Victory to Durga

 The Master sang:

           I have surrendered my soul at the fearless feet of the Mother; 

              Am I afraid of Death any more? 

              Unto the tuft of hair on my head 

              Is tied the almighty mantra, Mother Kāli's name. 

               My body I have sold in the market-place of the world  

               And with it have bought Sri Durga's name. 

               Deep within my heart I have planted the name of Kāli,  

                The Wish-fulfilling Tree of heaven; 

                 When Yama, King of Death, appears, 

                 To him I shall open my heart and show it growing there.   

                 I have cast out from me my six unflagging foes [six passions];

                   Ready am I to sail life's sea, 

                    Crying, "To Durga, victory!" 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 302 (10 October 1883)

     

Surrender to the Divine Mother

Who can ever know God? I don't even try. I only call on Him as Mother. Let Mother do whatever She likes. I shall know Her if it is Her will; but I shall be happy to remain ignorant if She wills otherwise. 

My nature is that of a kitten. It only cries, 'Mew, mew!' The rest it leaves to its mother. The mother cat puts the kitten sometimes in the kitchen and sometimes on the master's bed. The young child wants only his mother. He doesn't know how wealthy his mother is, and he doesn't even want to know. He knows only, 'I have a mother; why should I worry?' Even the child of the maidservant knows that he has a mother. If he quarrels with the son of the master, he says: 'I shall tell my mother. I have a mother.' My attitude, too, is that of a child. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 299

                      (26 September 1883) 

Avatara’s Grace

 

Knowledge and Ignorance

Covering of Maya

MASTER: "Yes, there is only One without a second. The Vedas speak of It as 'Om Satchidananda Brahma', the Puranas as 'Om Satchidananda Krishna,' and the Tantra as 'Om Satchidananda Śiva'. 

"The ChitŚakti, as Mahamaya, has deluded all with ignorance. It is said in the Adhyātma Rāmāyana that when the rishis saw Rāma, they prayed to Him in these words only: 'O Rāma, please do not delude us with Your world-bewitching maya.' " 

ISHAN: "What is this maya?" 

MASTER: "Whatever you see, think, or hear is maya.  In a word, 'woman and gold' is the covering of maya. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 290 (22 September 1883)

Snake and its Motion

Whatever we see or think about is the manifestation of the glory of the Primordial Energy, the Primal Consciousness. Creation, preservation, and destruction, living beings and the universe, and further, meditation and the meditator, bhakti and prema - all these are manifestations of the glory of that Power. 

But Brahman is identical with Its Power. 

On returning from Ceylon, Hanuman praised Rāma, saying: 'O Rāma, You are the Supreme Brahman, and Sita is Your Śakti. You and She are identical' Brahman and Śakti are like the snake and its wriggling motion. Thinking of the  snake,  one  must  think  of  its  wriggling  motion,  and  thinking  of  its wriggling motion, one must think of the snake. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 290 (22 September 1883)

Gem and Its Lustre

 

Form and Formless God

 

Brahman and Shakti are Identical

Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute is one, and one only. But It is associated with different limiting adjuncts on account of the different degrees of Its manifestation. That is why one finds various forms of God. 

The devotee sings, 'O my Divine Mother, Thou art all these!' Wherever you see actions, like creation, preservation, and dissolution, there is the manifestation of Śakti. Water is water whether it is calm or full of waves and bubbles. 

The Absolute alone is the Primordial Energy, which creates, preserves, and destroys. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 277 (19 August 1883)

Uncle Moon

 

Body Worship

Body and wealth are impermanent. Why go to so much trouble for their sakes? Just think of the plight of the hathayogis. Their attention is fixed on one ideal only - longevity. They do not aim at the realization of God at all. They practise such exercises as washing out the intestines, drinking milk through a tube, and the like, with that one aim in view. 

There was once a goldsmith whose tongue suddenly turned up and stuck to his palate. He looked like a man in samādhi. He became completely inert and remained so a long time. People came to worship him. After several years, his tongue suddenly returned to its natural position, and he became conscious of things as before. So he went back to his work as a goldsmith. (All laugh.) 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 285 

                      (7 September 1883)

Nature of the Divine Incarnation

 

Vijnāna or Transcendental Knowledge

“… If a thorn has entered your foot, get another thorn and with its help take out the first; then throw away the second also.”

M: "Should one throwaway both knowledge and ignorance?" 

MASTER: "Yes. That is why one should acquire vijnāna. You see, he who is aware of light is also aware of darkness. He who is aware of happiness is also aware of suffering. He who is aware of virtue is also aware of vice. He who is aware of good is also aware of evil.  He who is aware of holiness is also aware of unholiness. He who is aware of 'I' is also aware of 'you'. 

"What is vijnāna? It is knowing God in a special way. The awareness and conviction that fire exists in wood is jnāna, knowledge. But to cook rice on that fire, eat the rice, and get nourishment from it is vijnāna. To know by one's inner experience that God exists is jnāna. But to talk to Him, to enjoy Him as Child, as Friend, as Master, as Beloved, is vijnāna. 

The realization that God alone has become the universe and all living beings is vijnāna.” 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 288 (7 September 1883)

Best Devotee

 

Jnāni and Lover of God

The Jnāni experiences God-Consciousness within himself; it is like the upper Ganges, flowing in only one direction. To him the whole universe is illusory, like a dream; he is always established in the Reality of Self. 

But with the lover of God the case is different. His feeling does not flow in only one direction. He feels both the ebb-tide and the flood-tide of divine emotion. He laughs and weeps and dances and sings in the ecstasy of God. 

The lover of God likes to sport with Him. In the Ocean of God-Consciousness he sometimes swims, sometimes goes down, and sometimes rises to the surface-like pieces of ice in the water. (Laughter.) 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 277 (19 August 1883)

Joy of God-Consciousness

 

Good Use of Money

Spiritual practice with a view to winning a lawsuit and earning money, or to helping others win in court and acquire property, shows a very mean understanding. 

Money enables a man to get food and drink, build a house, worship the Deity, serve devotees and holy men, and help the poor when he happens to meet them. These are the good uses of money. Money is not meant for luxuries or creature comforts or for buying a position in society.   

People practise various Tantrik disciplines to acquire supernatural powers. How mean such people are! Krishna said to Arjuna, 'Friend, by acquiring one of the eight siddhis you may add a little to your power, but you will not be able to realize Me.' 

One cannot get rid of maya as long as one exercises supernatural powers. And maya begets egotism. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 285 

                    (7 September 1883)

Law of Karma

 

Virtue and Vice

NEIGHBOUR: "Then is there no virtue and no sin?"  

MASTER: "They both exist and do not exist. If God keeps the ego in a man, then He keeps in him the sense of differentiation and also the sense of virtue and sin. But in a rare few He completely effaces the ego and these go beyond virtue and sin, good and bad. 

As long as a man has not realized God, he retains the sense of differentiation and the knowledge of good and bad. You may say: 'Virtue and sin are the same to me. I am doing only as God bids me.' But you know in your heart of hearts that those are mere words. No sooner do you commit an evil deed than you feel a palpitation in your heart. 

Even after God has been realized, He keeps in the mind of the devotee, if He so desires, the feeling of the 'servant ego'. In that state the devotee says, 'O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant.' Such a devotee enjoys only spiritual talk and spiritual deeds. He does not enjoy the company of ungodly people.  He does not care for any work that is not of a holy nature.  So you see that God keeps the sense of differentiation even in such a devotee." 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 328 (28 November 1883)

Mystery of Divine Incarnation

In order to bring people spiritual knowledge, an Incarnation of God lives in the world in the company of devotees, cherishing an attitude of love for God. 

It is like going up and coming down the stairs after having once reached the roof. In order to reach the roof, other people should follow the path of devotion, as long as they have not attained Knowledge and become free of desire. The roof can be reached only when all desires are done away with. 

The shopkeeper does not go to bed before finishing his accounts. He goes to sleep only when his accounts are finished. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 272 

                   (18 August 1883)

Restlessness for God

 

Master Extols Narendra

Narendra, Bhavanath, Rākhāl, and devotees like them belong to the group of the nityasiddhas; they are eternally free. Religious practice on their part is superfluous. 

Look at Narendra. He doesn't care about anyone. One day he was going with me in Captain's carriage. Captain wanted him to take a good seat, but Narendra didn't even look at him. He is independent even of me. He doesn't tell me all he knows, lest I should praise his scholarship before others. He is free from ignorance and delusion. He has no bonds. He is a great soul. 

He has many good qualities. He is expert in music, both as a singer and player, and is also a versatile scholar. Again, he keeps his passions under control and says that he will never marry. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 279 (19 August 1883)

With Form and Formless

 

Incarnation of God

 

Nature of Brahman

Like the Ākāśa, Brahman is without any modification. It has become manifold because of Śakti. Again, Brahman is like fire, which itself has no colour. The fire appears white if you throw a white substance into it, red if you throw a red, black if you throw a black. The three gunas-sattva, rajas, and tamas - belong to Śakti alone. Brahman Itself is beyond the three gunas. What Brahman is cannot be described. It is beyond words. That which remains after everything is eliminated by the Vedantic process of 'Not this, not this', and which is of the nature of Bliss, is Brahman. 

Suppose the husband of a young girl has come to his father-in-law's house and is seated in the drawing-room with other young men of his age. The girl and her friends are looking at them through the window. Her friends do not know her husband and ask her, pointing to one young man, 'Is that your husband?' 'No', she answers, smiling. They point to another young man and ask if he is her husband. Again she answers no. They repeat the question, referring to a third, and she gives the same answer. At last they point to her husband and ask, 'Is he the one?' She says neither yes nor no, but only smiles and keeps quiet. Her friends realize that he is her husband. 

One becomes silent on realizing the true nature of Brahman. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 280 

                      (20 August 1883)