Rabindranath Tagore

The 3 Gunas

Under the spell of God’s maya man forgets his true nature.

He forgets that he is heir to the infinite glories of his Father. This divine maya is made up of 3 gunas.

And all 3 are robbers. They rob man of all his treasures and make him forget his true nature.

The 3 gunas are:

1. Sattva
2. Rajas
3. Tamas

Of these, sattva alone points the way to God. But even sattva cannot take a man to God.

Parable of the three robbers

Once a rich man was robbed by 3 robbers.

Robber 1 said: ‘What’s the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him.’

• This is tamas. It destroys. Robber 2 said: ‘There’s no use in killing him. Let us bind him and leave him here. Then he won’t be able to tell the police.’ They left.
• This is rajas, which binds a man to the world and entangles him in a variety of activities. Rajas makes him forget God. Robber 3 returned to the rich man and said: ‘You’re badly hurt. I will release you. Follow that road and you will reach home easily.’

• This is Sattva which alone shows the way to God. It produces virtues like compassion, righteousness, and devotion.
• Sattva is like the last step of the stairs. Next to it is the roof.

The Supreme Brahman is man’s own abode. One cannot attain the Knowledge of Brahman unless one transcends the three gunas.

Do you know the nature of devotees?

When one devotee meets another, he says, ‘Let me speak and you listen; and when you speak I shall listen.’

You are a preacher and teach so many people! You are a steamship, and I am a mere fishing-boat.’

(All laugh.)

Wednesday, May 2, 1883

About 5PM, Sri Ramakrishna arrived at the temple of the Brahmo Samaj in Nandanbagan, accompanied by M., Rakhal, and a few other devotees.

At first the Master sat in the drawing-room on the ground floor, where the Brahmo devotees gradually assembled.

Rabindranath Tagore and a few other members of the Tagore family were present.

Sri Ramakrishna was asked to go to the worship hall on the second floor. A dais had been built on the eastern side of the room. There were a few chairs and a piano in the hall. The Brahmo worship was to begin at dusk.

“Narendra once asked me, ‘What good is there in bowing before the Brahmo Samaj temple?’ The sight of the temple recalls to my mind God alone; then God-Consciousness is kindled in my mind. God is present where people talk about Him. One feels there the presence of all the holy places. Places of worship recall God alone to my mind.

“Once a devotee was overwhelmed with ecstasy at the sight of a babla-tree. The idea flashed in his mind that the handle of the axe used in the garden of the temple of Radhakanta was made from the wood of the babla. Another devotee had such devotion for his guru that he would be overwhelmed with divine feeling at the sight of his guru’s neighbours. Krishna-consciousness would be kindled in Radha’s mind at the sight of a cloud, a blue dress, or a painting of Krishna. She would become restless and cry like a mad person, ‘Krishna, where art Thou?’

GHOSAL: “But madness is not desirable.”

MASTER: “What do you mean? Was Radha’s madness the madness that comes from brooding over worldly objects and makes one unconscious? One attains that madness by meditating on God. Haven’t you heard of love-madness and knowledge-madness?”

A BRAHMO DEVOTEE: “How can one realize God?”

MASTER: “By directing your love to Him and constantly reasoning that God alone is real and the world illusory. The Aśwattha tree alone is permanent; its fruit is transitory.” How to spiritualize the passions

BRAHMO: “We have passions like anger and lust. What shall we do with these?”

MASTER: “Direct the six passions to God. The impulse of lust should be turned into the desire to have intercourse with Ātman. Feel angry at those who stand in your way to God. Feel greedy for Him. If you must have the feeling of I and Mine, then associate it with God. Say, for instance, ‘My Rama, my Krishna.’ If you must have pride, then feel like Bibhishana, who said, ‘I have touched the feet of Rama with my head; I will not bow this head before anyone else.’”

BRAHMO: “If it is God that makes me do everything, then I am not responsible for my sins.”

MASTER (with a smile): “Yes, Duryodhana also said that. ‘O Krishna, I do what Thou, seated in my heart, makest me do.’ If a man has the firm conviction that God alone is the Doer and he is His instrument, then he cannot do anything sinful. He who has learnt to dance correctly never makes a false step. One cannot even believe in the existence of God until one’s heart becomes pure.”

Sri Ramakrishna looked at the devotees assembled in the worship hall and said: “It is very good to gather in this way, now and then, and think of God and sing His name and glories. But the worldly man’s yearning for God is momentary. It lasts as long as a drop of water on a red-hot frying-pan.”

The worship was about to begin, and the big hall was filled with Brahmo devotees. Some of the Brahmo ladies sat on chairs, with music books in their hands. The songs of the Brahmo Samaj were sung to the accompaniment of harmonium and piano. Sri Ramakrishna’s joy was unbounded. The invocation was followed by a prayer, and then the worship began. The acharyas, seated on the platform, recited from the Vedas:

Om. Thou art our Father. Give us right knowledge; do not destroy us! We bow to Thee.

The Brahmo devotees chanted in chorus with the acharyas:

Om. Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, Infinity. It shines as Bliss and Immortality. Brahman is Peace, Blessedness, and the One without a Second; It is pure and unstained by sin. The acharyas chanted in praise of God: Om. O Reality, Cause of the Universe, we bow to Thee! Then the acharyas chanted their prayer together: From the unreal lead us to the Real; From darkness lead us to Light; From death lead us to Immortality. Reach us through and through, O Rudra, and protect us evermore with Thy Compassionate Face.

As Sri Ramakrishna heard these hymns, he went into a spiritual mood. After this an Āchārya read a paper.

The worship was over. Most of the devotees went downstairs or to the courtyard for fresh air while the refreshments were being made ready. It was about nine o’clock in the evening. The hosts were so engrossed with the other invited guests that they forgot to pay any attention to Sri Ramakrishna.

MASTER (to Rakhal and the other devotees): “What’s the matter? Nobody is paying any attention to us!”

RAKHAL (angrily): “Sir, Let us leave here and go to Dakshineswar.”

MASTER (with a smile): “Keep quiet! The carriage hire is 3 rupees and 2 ānnās. Who will pay that? Stubbornness won’t get us anywhere. You haven’t a penny, and you are making these empty threats! Besides, where shall we find food at this late hour of the night?”

After a long time dinner was announced. The devotees were asked to take their seats.

The Master, with Rakhal and the others, followed the crowd to the second floor.

No room could be found for him inside the hall. Finally, with great difficulty, a place was found for him in a dusty corner. A brahmin woman served some curry, but Sri Ramakrishna could not eat it. He ate luchi with salt and took some sweets.

There was no limit to the Master’s kindness. The hosts were mere youngsters; how could he be displeased with them, even though they did not show him proper respect?

Further, it would have been inauspicious for the household if a holy man had left the place without taking food. Finally the feast had been prepared in the name of God.

Sri Ramakrishna got into a carriage: but who was to pay the hire? The hosts could not be found. Referring to this incident afterwards, the Master said to the devotees, jokingly: “The boys went to our hosts for the carriage hire. First they were put out, but at last they managed to get together three rupees.

Our hosts refused to pay the extra 2 ānnās and said, ‘No, that will do.’ "