Ignorance from the Ego

Sunday, January 1, 1882

Sri Ramakrishna arrived with his devotees at the house of Jnan Choudhury, in Calcutta, to join the annual festival of the Simla Brahmo Samaj. Keshab, Ram, Manomohan, Balaram, Kedar, Narendra, Rakhal, and other devotees were present. Narendra had met the Master only a few days before at the temple garden at Dakshineswar.

He used to participate now and then in the worship of the Simla Brahrno Samaj and sing for the congregation.

The worship was arranged according to the usual custom of the Samaj. First the scripture was read; then Narendra sang. It was dusk. The devotees made merry.

Company of holy men extolled

The Master looked at the householder devotees seated around him and said with a smile: “Why shouldn’t it be possible for a householder to give his mind to God? But the truth is that he no longer has his mind with him. If he had it, then he could certainly offer it to God.

But, alas, the mind has been mortgaged-mortgaged to ‘woman and gold’.

So it is necessary for him constantly to live in the company of holy men. When, he gets back his own mind, then he can devote it to spiritual practice; but first it is necessary to live constantly with the guru, wait on him, and enjoy the company of spiritual people.

Either he should think of God in solitude day and night, or he should live with holy men.

The mind left to itself gradually dries up. Take a jar of water, for instance. If the jar is set aside, the water dries up little by little. But that will not happen if the jar is kept immersed in the Ganges.

Concerning the ego

“The iron becomes red in the furnace of a smith. Take it out and it becomes black as before.

Therefore the iron must be heated in the furnace every now and then.

“Do you know what ignorance means? It is the feeling: ‘This is my house; these are my relatives; I am the doer; and the household affairs go on smoothly because I manage them.’

But to feel, ‘I am the servant of God, His devotee, His son’-that is a good attitude.

“The ‘I’ cannot be effaced altogether. You may explain it away through reasoning, but the next moment it reappears, nobody knows from where. It is like a goat that still bleats faintly and jerks its legs even after its head has been cut off. “But the ‘I’ that God retains in His devotee after he has seen Him is called the ‘ripe I’. It is like a sword turned into gold by touching the philosopher’s stone; you cannot hurt anybody with it.”

Thus the Master talked, seated in the worship hall, and Keshab and the other devotees listened with rapt attention. It was about eight o’clock in the evening. The bell rang three times for the worship.

MASTER (to Keshab and the others): “What’s this? I see you haven’t yet begun your regular worship.”

KESHAB: “What further worship do we need? We are having all this.”

MASTER: “Oh no, my dear sir! Let the worship be performed according to your custom.”

KESHAB: “Why? We are getting on very well”

At the Master’s repeated request Keshab began the worship. In the midst of it Sri Ramakrishna suddenly stood up and went into samadhi. The Brahmo devotees sang:

Chant, O mind, the name of Hari, Sing aloud the name of Hari, Praise Lord Hari’s name! And praising Hari’s name, O mind, Cross the ocean of this world. . . .

The Master still stood there absorbed in ecstasy. Keshab led him down very carefully from the temple to the courtyard. The music went on. The Master danced to the music, the devotees dancing around him.

After the refreshments Sri Ramakrishna again talked with Keshab. Soon he began to sing. Keshab sang with the Master: The black bee of my mind is drawn in sheer delight To the blue lotus flower of Mother Syama’s feet, The blue flower of the feet of Kali, Siva’s Consort; Tasteless, to the bee, are the blossoms of desire.

My Mother’s feet are black, and black, too, is the bee;Black is made one with black! This much of the mystery

My mortal eyes behold, then hastily retreat.

But Kamalakanta’s hopes are answered in the end; He swims in the Sea of Bliss, unmoved by joy or pain.

Again they sang: High in the heaven of the Mother’s feet, my mind was soaring like a kite, When came a blast of sin’s rough wind that drove it swiftly toward the earth. . . .

Both Keshab and the Master were in a state of divine fervour. The other devotees joined them and sang and danced till midnight.

The Master rested a few minutes and then said to Keshab: “Why did you send me presents when your son was married? What shall I do with them? Take them back.”

Keshab smiled a little, and the Master continued: “Why do you write about me in your paper? You cannot make a man great by writing about him in books and magazines.

If God makes a man great, then everybody knows about him even though he lives in a forest.

When flowers bloom in the deep woods, the bees find them, but the flies do not. What can man do? Don’t look up to him. Man is but a worm. The tongue that praises you today will abuse you tomorrow. I don’t want name and fame. May I always remain the humblest of the humble and the lowliest of the lowly!”