Abhyasayoga

 

Two Classes of Paramahamsas

There are two classes of paramahamsas, one affirming the formless Reality and the other affirming God with form. Trailanga Swami believed in the formless Reality. Paramahamsas like him care for their own good alone; they feel satisfied if they themselves attain the goal. 

But those paramahamsas who believe in God with form keep the love of God even after attaining the Knowledge of Brahman, so that they may teach spiritual truth to others. They are like a pitcher brimful of water. Part of the water may be poured into another pitcher. These perfected souls describe to others the various spiritual disciplines by which they have realized God. They do this only to teach others and to help them in spiritual life. With great effort men dig a well for drinking water, using spades and baskets for the purpose. After the digging is over, some throw the spades and other implements into the well, not needing them any more. But some put them away near the well, so that others may use them. 

Some eat mangoes secretly and remove all trace of them by wiping their mouths with a towel. But some share the fruit with others. There are sages who, even after attaining Knowledge, work to help others and also to enjoy the Bliss of God in the company of devotees.  'I want to eat sugar.  I don't want to be sugar.' 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 500 (03 August 1884)

No One Stranger

 

The State of Samādhi

When the Kundalini rises to the Sahasrara and the mind goes into samādhi, the aspirant loses all consciousness of the outer world. He can no longer retain his physical body. If milk is poured into his mouth, it runs out again. In that state the life-breath lingers for twenty-one days and then passes out. Entering the 'black waters' of the ocean, the ship never comes back.  

But the Isvarakotis, such as the Incarnations of God, can come down from this state of samādhi. They can descend from this exalted state because they like to live in the company of devotees and enjoy the love of God. God retains in them the 'ego of Knowledge' or the 'ego of Devotion' so that they may teach men. Their minds move between the sixth and the seventh planes.  They run a boat-race back and forth, as it were, between these two planes. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 500 (03 August 1884)

Devotion to God

 

Egotism

 

Occult Powers

What is there in occult powers? When one’s mind is entangled with them, one moves away from Satchidananda. Listen to this story. A man had two sons. The elder left home while he was still young and became a monk. Meanwhile, the younger one got his education and became learned and virtuous. He married and settled down to fulfil his duties as a householder.

According to tradition, after twelve years a monk may visit his birthplace if he wishes. So this monk went to visit his birthplace after being gone for twelve years. He saw his younger brother’s farm, his crops, and his wealth. When he reached the door, he called out his brother’s name. Hearing his name, the younger brother came out to greet his elder brother. He was overwhelmed with happiness at seeing him after such a long time. He bowed to him, brought him inside the house, and began to serve him. After sharing a meal, they began to talk about various things. The younger brother asked the elder: ‘Brother, you have given up worldly pleasures and wandered as a monk for many years. Please tell me what you have gained by this.’ The elder brother said: ‘You want to see what I have achieved? Come with me.’ So he took his brother to the bank of a nearby river and said, ‘Watch!’ He then crossed the river, walking on the water. Reaching the other bank, he called back, ‘Did you see that?’ The younger brother paid half a penny to the ferryman, crossed the river by boat, went up to his brother and said, ‘What have I seen?’ The elder brother said, ‘Did you not see me cross the river on foot?’ 

Smiling, the younger brother replied: ‘Didn’t you see me pay half a penny to cross that river? Is that all you gained by performing austerities for twelve years? Your power is worth only half a penny.’ As the monk listened to his brother’s words, he was awakened and focussed his mind on God-realization. 

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 526 

Renunciation

 

Harmony of Sects

He is indeed a real man who has harmonized everything. Most people are one-sided. But I find that all opinions point to the One. All views - the Sakta, the Vaishnava, the Vedānta - have that One for their centre. He who is formless is, again, endowed with form. It is He who appears in different forms: The attributeless Brahman is my Father. God with attributes is my Mother. Whom shall I blame? Whom shall I praise? The two pans of the scales are equally heavy.

He who is described in the Vedas is also described in the Tantras and the Puranas. All of them speak about the one Satchidananda. The Nitya and the Lila are the two aspects of the one Reality. It is described in the Vedas as 'Om Satchidananda Brahman', in the Tantras as 'Om Satchidananda Śiva', the ever-pure Śiva, and in the Puranas as 'Om Satchidananda Krishna'. All the scriptures, the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Tantras, speak only of one Satchidananda. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 490 (03 July 1884)

Religious Garb

 

God Inside and Outside

 

Three kinds of Bhakti

PUNDIT: "By what kind of bhakti does one realize God?"   

MASTER: "Three kinds of bhakti are found, according to the nature of the man: sattvic bhakti, rajasic bhakti, and tamasic bhakti. 

Sattvic bhakti is known to God alone. It makes no outward display. A man with such devotion loves privacy. Perhaps he meditates inside the mosquito net, where nobody sees him. When this kind of devotion is awakened, one hasn't long to wait for the vision of God. The appearance of the dawn in the east shows that the sun will rise before long. 

A man with rajasic bhakti feels like making a display of his devotion before others. He worships the Deity with 'sixteen ingredients', enters the temple wearing a silk cloth, and puts around his neck a string of rudrāksha beads interspersed here and there with beads of gold and ruby. 

A man with tamasic bhakti shows the courage and boisterousness of a highway robber. A highway robber goes on his expedition openly, shouting, 'Kill! Plunder!' He isn't afraid even  of  eight  police  inspectors.  The  devotee  with  tamasic  bhakti  also  shouts  like  a madman:'Hara! Hara! Vyom! Vyom! Victory to Kāli!' He has great strength of mind and burning faith. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 494 (03 July 1884)

Old Tendencies

Is it an easy thing to destroy old tendencies? Once there lived a very pious Hindu who always worshipped the Divine Mother and chanted Her name. When the Mussalmans conquered the country, they forced him embrace Islam. They said to him: 'You are now a Mussalman. Say "Allah". From now on you must repeat only the name of Allah.' With great difficulty he repeated the word 'Allah', but every now and then blurted out 'Jagadamba'. At that the Mussalmans were about to beat him. Thereupon he said to them: 'I beseech you! Please do not kill me. I have been trying my utmost to repeat the name of Allah, but our Jagadamba has filled me up to the throat. She pushes out your Allah.' (All laugh.) 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 485 (30 June 1884)

Seeing God

 

Affirmation and Negation

One can attain spiritual consciousness through both affirmation and negation. There is the positive path of love and devotion, and there is the negative path of knowledge and discrimination. You are preaching the path of knowledge. But that creates a very difficult situation: there the guru and the disciple do not see each other. Sukadeva went to Janaka for instruction about the Knowledge of Brahman. Janaka said to him: 'You must pay me the guru's fee beforehand. When you attain the knowledge of Brahman you won't pay me the fee, because the knower of Brahman sees no difference between the guru and the disciple.' 

Both negation and affirmation are ways to realize one and the same goal. Infinite are the opinions and infinite are the ways. But you must remember one thing. The injunction is that the path of devotion described by Nārada is best suited to the Kaliyuga. According to this path, first comes bhakti; then bhava, when bhakti is mature. Higher than bhava are mahabhava and prema. An ordinary mortal does not attain mahabhava and prema. He who has achieved these has realized the goal, that is to say, has attained God. 

- Sri Ramakrishna to Pandit Shashadhar, 

                             Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 485 (30 June 1884)

Qualified Non-Dualism

MASTER: "Again, I cannot utter a word unless I come down at least two steps from the plane of samādhi. Sankara's Non-dualistic explanation of Vedānta is true, and so is the Qualified Non-dualistic interpretation of Ramanuja."  

NARENDRA: "What is Qualified Non-dualism?" 

MASTER: "It is the theory of Ramanuja. According to this theory, Brahman, or the Absolute,  is qualified  by  the  universe  and  its  living  beings:  These  three -Brahman, the world, and living beings - together constitute One. Take the instance of a bel-fruit. A man wanted to know the weight of the fruit. He separated the shell, the flesh, and the seeds. But can a man get the weight by weighing only the flesh? He must weigh flesh, shell, and seeds together. At first it appears that the real thing in the fruit is the flesh, and not its seeds or shell. Then by reasoning you find that the shell, seeds, and flesh all belong to  the  fruit;  the  shell  and  seeds  belong  to  the  same  thing  that  the  flesh  belongs  to. Likewise, in spiritual discrimination one must first reason, following the method of 'Not this, not this': God is not the universe; God is not the living beings; Brahman alone is real, and all else is unreal. Then one realizes, as with the bel-fruit, that the Reality from which we derive the notion of Brahman is the very Reality that evolves the idea of living beings and the universe. 

The Nitya and the Lila are the two aspects of one and the same Reality; therefore, according to Ramanuja, Brahman is qualified by the universe and the living beings. This is the theory of Qualified Non-dualism. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 733-34 (11 March 1885)