Superphysics
With The Devotees At Dakshineswar (I)
7 minutes • 1379 words
Table of contents
Monday, June 4, 1883
Around 9 AM, the devotees began to arrive at the temple garden.
Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the porch of his room facing the Ganges. M., who had spent the previous night with the Master, sat near him. Balarām and several other devotees were present.
Rākhāl lay on the floor, resting his head on the Master’s lap.
For the past few days, the Master had been regarding Rākhāl as the Baby Krishna. Seeing Trailokya passing on his way to the Kali temple, Sri Ramakrishna asked Rākhāl to get up. Trailokya bowed to the Master.
(to Trailokya) Was there no yatra performance last night?
TRAILOKYA: “No, sir. We couldn’t conveniently arrange it.”
What is done is done. But please see that this doesn’t happen again. The traditions of the temple should be properly observed.
Trailokya gave a suitable reply and went on his way. After a while Ram Chatterji, the priest of the Vishnu temple, came up to Sri Ramakrishna.
Ram, I told Trailokya that the yatra performance should not be omitted again. Was I right in saying that?
RAM: Of course you were right. The traditions should be observed.
The Master asked Balarām to stay for his midday meal. Before the meal Sri Ramakrishna described to the devotees the days of his God-intoxication. Rākhāl, M., Ramlal, and a few others were present.
Master’s attitude toward young disciples
Now and then Hazra comes forward to teach me. He says to me, ‘Why do you think so much about the youngsters?’ One day, as I was going to Balarām’s house in a carriage, I felt greatly troubled about it.
I said to the Divine Mother: ‘Mother, Hazra admonishes me for worrying about Narendra and the other young boys. He asks me why I forget God and think about these youngsters.’
No sooner did this thought arise in my mind than the Divine Mother revealed to me in a flash that it is She Herself who has become man. But She manifests Herself most clearly through a pure soul.
At this vision I went into samadhi. Afterwards I felt angry with Hazra. I said to myself, ‘That rascal made me miserable.’ Then I thought: ‘But why should I blame the poor man? How is he to know?’
His yearning for Narendra
I know these youngsters to be Narayana Himself. At my first meeting with Narendra I found him completely indifferent to his body. When I touched his chest with my hand, he lost consciousness of the outer world.
Regaining consciousness, Narendra said: ‘Oh, what have you done to me? I have my father and mother at home!’ The same thing happened at Jadu Mallick’s house. As the days passed I longed more and more to see him.
My heart yearned for him. One day at that time I said to Bholanath: ‘Can you tell me why I should feel this way? There is a boy called Narendra, of the kayastha caste. Why should I feel so restless for him?’ Bholanath said: ‘You will find the explanation in the Mahabharata. On coming down to the plane of ordinary consciousness, a man established in samadhi enjoys himself in the company of sattvic people. He feels peace of mind at the sight of such men.’ When I heard this my mind was set at ease. Now and then I would sit alone and weep for the sight of Narendra.
“Oh, what a state of mind I passed through! When I first had that experience, I could not perceive the coming and going of day or night. People said I was insane. What else could they say? They made me marry. I was then in a state of God-intoxication. At first I felt worried about my wife. Then I thought she too would eat and drink and live like me.
“I visited my father-in-law’s house. They arranged a kirtan. It was a great religious festival, and there was much singing of God’s holy name. Now and then I would wonder about my future. I would say to the Divine Mother, ‘Mother, I shall take my spiritual experiences to be real if the landlords of the country show me respect.’ They too came of their own accord and talked with me.
Oh, what an ecstatic state it was! Even the slightest suggestion would awaken my spiritual consciousness. I worshipped the ‘Beautiful’ in a girl fourteen years old. I saw that she was the personification of the Divine Mother. At the end of the worship I bowed before her and offered a rupee at her feet. One day I witnessed a Ramlila performance.
I saw the performers to be the actual Sita, Rāma, Lakshmana, Hanuman, and Bibhishana. Then I worshipped the actors and actresses who played those parts.
At that time I used to invite maidens here and worship them. I found them to be embodiments of the Divine Mother Herself. “One day I saw a woman in blue standing near the bakul-tree. She was a prostitute.
But she instantly kindled in me the vision of Sita. I forgot the woman. I saw that it was Sita herself on her way to meet Rāma after her rescue from Ravana in Ceylon.
For a long time I remained in samadhi, unconscious of the outer world.
Another day I had gone to the Maidan in Calcutta for fresh air. A great crowd had assembled there to watch a balloon ascension. Suddenly I saw an English boy leaning against a tree. As he stood there his body was bent in three places. The vision of Krishna came before me in a flash. I went into samadhi.
Once, at Sihore, I fed the cowherd boys. I put sweetmeats into their hands. I saw that these boys were actually the cowherd boys of Vrindavan, and I partook of the sweetmeats from their hands.
At that time I was almost unconscious of thc outer world. Mathur Babu kept me at his Janbazar mansion a few days. While living there I regarded myself as the handmaid of the Divine Mother. The ladies of the house didn’t feel at all bashful with me. They felt as free before me as women feel before a small boy or girl. I used to escort Mathur’s daughter to her husband’s chamber with the maidservant.
Even now the slightest thing awakens God-Consciousness in me. Rākhāl used to repeat the name of God half aloud. At such times I couldn’t control myself. It would rouse my spiritual consciousness and overwhelm me.”
Sri Ramakrishna went on describing the different experiences he had had while worshipping the Divine Mother as Her handmaid. He said: “Once I imitated a professional woman, singer for a man singer. He said my acting was quite correct and asked me where I had learnt it.” The Master repeated his imitation for the devotees, and they burst into laughter.
After his noon meal the Master took a short rest. Manilal Mallick, an old member of the Brahmo Samaj, entered the room and sat down after saluting the Master, who was still lying on his bed. Manilal asked him questions now and then, and the Master, still half asleep, answered with a word or two. Manilal said that Shivanath admired Nityagopal’s spiritual state. The Master asked in a sleepy tone what they thought of Hazra. Then Sri Ramakrishna sat up on his bed and told Manilal about Bhavanath’s devotion to God.
MASTER: “Ah, what an exalted state he is in! He has hardly begun to sing about God before his eyes fill with tears. The very sight of Harish made him ecstatic. He said that Harish was very lucky. He made the remark because Harish was spending a few days here, now and then, away from his home.”
Sri Ramakrishna asked M., “Well, what is the cause of bhakti? Why should the spiritual feeling of young boys like Bhavanath be awakened?” M. remained silent.
MASTER: “The fact is, all men may look alike from the outside, but some of them have fillings of ‘condensed milk’. Cakes may have fillings of condensed milk or powdered black grams, but they all look alike from the outside. The desire to know God, ecstatic love of Him, and such other spiritual qualities are the ‘condensed milk’.”
