Superphysics
Spiritual Inspiration Comes from God
6 minutes • 1155 words
Table of contents
(to the devotees) Both worldliness and liberation depend on God’s will. It is God alone who has kept man in the world in a state of ignorance; and man will be free when God, of His own sweet will, calls him to Himself.
It is like the mother calling the child at meal-time, when he is out playing. When the time comes for setting a man free, God makes him seek the company of holy men. Further, it is God who makes him restless for spiritual life.
A NEIGIHBOUR: “What kind of restlessness, sir?”
Like the restlessness of a clerk who has lost his job. He makes the round of the offices daily and asks whether there is any vacancy.
When that restlessness comes, man longs for God. A fop, seated comfortably with one leg over the other, chewing betel-leaf and twirling his moustaches-a carefree dandy-, cannot attain God.
NEIGHBOUR: “Can one get this longing for God through frequenting the company of holy men?”
Yes, it is possible. But not for a confirmed scoundrel. A sannyasi’s kamandalu, made of bitter gourd, travels with him to the 4 great places of pilgrimage but still does not lose its bitterness.
The kirtan began. The musician sang of Sri Krishna’s life in Vrindāvan:
RADHA: “Friend, I am about to die. Give me back my Krishna.”
FRIEND: “But, Radha; the cloud of Krishna was ready to burst into rain. It was yourself who blew it away with the strong wind of your pique. You are certainly not happy to see Krishna happy; or why were you piqued?”
RADHA: “But this pride was not mine. My pride has gone away with Him who made me proud.”
After the music, Sri Ramakrishna talked to the devotees.
The gopis worshipped Katyayani in order to be united with Sri Krishna.
Everyone is under the authority of the Divine Mother, Mahamaya, the Primal Energy.
Even the Incarnations of God accept the help of maya to fulfil their mission on earth.
Therefore they worship the Primal Energy. Don’t you see how bitterly Rama wept for Sita?
‘Brahman weeps, ensnared in the meshes of maya.’
“Vishnu incarnated Himself as a sow in order to kill the demon Hiranyaksha. After killing the demon, the sow remained quite happy with her young ones. Forgetting her real nature, she was suckling them very contentedly. The gods in heaven could not persuade Vishnu to relinquish His sow’s body and return to the celestial regions. He was absorbed in the happiness of His beast form. After consulting among themselves, the gods sent Śiva to the sow.
Śiva asked the sow, ‘Why have you forgotten yourself?’ Vishnu replied through the sow’s body, ‘Why, I am quite happy here.’ Thereupon with a stroke of his trident Śiva destroyed the sow’s body, and Vishnu went back to heaven.”
Ramchandra Dutta
From Adhar’s house Sri Ramakrishna went to Ram’s house.
Ramchandra Dutta is one of the chief householder disciples of the Master, living in Calcutta.
He had been one of the first to announce the Master as an Incarnation of God. The Master had visited his house a number of times and unstintingly praised the devotion and generosity of this beloved disciple.
A few of the Master’s disciples made Ram’s house virtually their own dwelling-place.
Ram had arranged a special festival to celebrate the Master’s visit. The small courtyard was nicely decorated. A kathak, seated on a raised platform, was reciting from the Bhagavata when the Master arrived. Ram greeted him respectfully and seated him near the reader. The disciple was extremely happy. The kathak was in the midst of the story of King Harischandra.
Story of Harishchandra
The great King Harischandra of the Purana was the embodiment of generosity. No one ever went away from him empty-handed.
The sage Viswamitra wanted to test the extent of the king’s charity. So he extracted from him a promise to grant any boon that he might ask. Then the sage asked for the gift of the sea-girt world, of which Harischandra was king.
Without the slightest hesitation the king gave away his kingdom. Then Viswamitra demanded the auxiliary fee, which alone makes charity valid and meritorious. The kathak continued his recitation:
Viswamitra said to the king: “O King, you have given away the entire world, which was your kingdom. It now belongs to me; you cannot claim any place here.
But you may live in Benares, which belongs to Śiva. I shall lead you there with your wife Saibya, and Rohitasva, your son. There you can procure the auxiliary fee that you owe me.” The royal family, accompanied by the sage, reached Benares and visited the temple of Śiva.
At the very mention of Śiva, the Master went into spiritual mood and repeated the holy name several times indistinctly. The kathak continued:
The king could not procure the fee and was compelled to sell Saibya, his royal consort, to a brahmin. With her went Prince Rohitasva. But since even that was not enough to redeem his pledge to the sage, Harischandra sold himself to an untouchable who kept a cremation ground. He was ordered to supervise the cremations.
One day, while plucking flowers for his brahmin master, Prince Rohitasva was bitten by a venomous snake and that very night died. The cruel brahmin would not leave his bed to help the poor mother cremate the body. The night was dark and stormy. Lightning rent the black clouds. Saibya started for the cremation ground alone, carrying the body of her son in her arms.
Smitten with fear and overpowered with grief, the queen filled heaven and earth with her wailing. Arriving at the cremation ground, she did not recognize her husband, who demanded the usual fee for the cremation. Saibya was penniless and wept bitterly at her unending misfortunes.
The impenetrable darkness was illumined only by the terrible flames of the cremation pyres. Above her the thunder roared, and before her the uncouth guardian of the cremation ground demanded his fee.
She who had once been queen of the world sat there with her only child dead and cold on her lap.
The devotees burst into tears and loudly lamented this tragic episode of a royal life. And what was the Master doing?
He was listening to the recital with rapt attention. Tear-drops appeared in his eyes and he wiped them away.
The kathak continued:
When the queen, wailing bitterly, uttered the name of her husband, Harischandra at once recognized his wife and son. Then the two wept for the dead prince. Yet in all these misfortunes the king never once uttered a word of regret for his charity.
Finally the sage Viswamitra appeared and told them that he had only wanted to put the king’s charitable impulses to a crucial test. Then, through his spiritual power, the sage brought the prince back to life and returned to the king his lost kingdom.
