Signs of a true devotee
Table of Contents
What is the sign of such a devotee? When you see a man doing great works, you may know that God’s special power is manifested through him.
The Primordial Power and the Supreme Brahman are identical. You can never think of the one without the other. They are like the gem and its brilliance. One cannot think of the brilliance without the gem, or of the gem without its brilliance. Again, it is like the snake and its wriggling motion. One cannot think of the wriggling motion without the snake, or of the snake without its wriggling motion.
It is the Primordial Power that has become the universe and its living beings and the twenty-four cosmic principles. It is a case of involution and evolution.
Master’s love for pure-souled disciples
Why do I feel so restless for Rakhal , Narendra, and the other youngsters?
Hazra once asked me:
When will you think of God if you are always anxious about these boys?
(Keshab and the others smile.) That worried me greatly. I prayed to the Divine Mother:
‘Mother, see what a fix I am in! Hazra scolds me because I worry about these young men.’
Afterwards I asked Bholanath about it. He said to me that such a state of mind is described in the Mahabharata. How else will a man established in samādhi occupy his mind in the phenomenal world, after coming down from samādhi? That is why he seeks the company of devotees endowed with sattva. I gave a sigh of relief when Bholanath told me of the Mahabharata.
“Hazra is not to blame. During the period of struggle one should follow the method of discrimination-‘Not this, not this’-and direct the whole mind to God. But the state of perfection is quite different.
After reaching God one reaffirms what formerly one denied. To extract butter you must separate it from the buttermilk. Then you discover that butter and buttermilk are intrinsically related to one another. They belong to the same stuff. The butter is not essentially different from the buttermilk, nor the buttermilk essentially different from the butter. After realizing God one knows definitely that it is He who has become everything. In some objects He is manifested more clearly, and in others less clearly.
“When a flood comes from the ocean, all the land is deep under water. Before the flood, the boat could have reached the ocean only by following the winding course of the river.
But after the flood, one can row straight to the ocean. One need not take a roundabout course. After the harvest has been reaped, one need not take the roundabout course along the balk of the field. One can cross the field at any point.
“After the realization of God, He is seen in all beings. But His greater manifestation is in man. Again, among men, God manifests Himself more clearly in those devotees who are sattvic, in those who have no desire whatever to enjoy ‘woman and gold’. Where can a man of samādhi rest his mind, after coming down from the plane of samādhi? That is why he feels the need of seeking the company of pure-hearted devotees, endowed with sattva and free from attachment to ‘woman and gold’. How else could such a person occupy himself in the relative plane of consciousness?
“He who is Brahman is the Ādyāśakti , the Primal Energy. When inactive He is called Brahman, the Purusha; He is called Śakti, or Prakriti, when engaged in creation, preservation, and destruction. These are the two aspects of Reality: Purusha and Prakriti. He who is the Purusha is also Prakriti. Both are the embodiment of Bliss.
“If you are aware of the Male Principle, you cannot ignore the Female Principle: He who is aware of the father must also think of the mother. ( Keshab laughs ) He who knows darkness also knows light. He who knows night also knows day. He who knows happiness also knows misery. You understand this, don’t you?”
KESHAB: “Yes, sir. I do.”
My Mother! Who is my Mother? Ah, She is the Mother of the Universe. It is She who creates and preserves the world, who always protects Her children, and who grants whatever they desire: dharma, artha, kama, moksha. A true son cannot live away from his mother. The Mother knows everything. The child only eats, drinks, and makes merry; he doesn’t worry himself about the things of the world.
KESHAB: “Yes, sir. It is quite true.”
While talking, Sri Ramakrishna regained the normal consciousness of the world. With a smile on his face he conversed with Keshab. The roomful of men watched them eagerly, and listened to their words. Everybody was amazed to find that neither Keshab nor the Master inquired about each other’s health. They talked only of God. Meditating on God and not on His glories
(to Keshab): “Why do the members of the Brahmo Samaj dwell so much on God’s glories? Is there any great need of repeating such things as ‘O God, Thou hast created the moon, the sun, and the stars’? Most people are filled with admiration for the garden only. How few care to see its owner! Who is greater, the garden or its owner? “After a few drinks at a tavern, do I care to Know how many gallons of wine are stored there? One bottle is enough for me.
“When I met Narendra, I never asked him ‘Who is your father? How many houses does he own?’
“Shall I tell you the truth? Man loves his own riches, and so he thinks that God loves His, too. He thinks that God will be pleased if we glorify His riches. Once Sambhu said to me, ‘Please bless me, that I may die leaving my riches at the Lotus Feet of God.’
I answered: ‘These are riches only to you. What riches can you offer God? To Him these are mere dust and straw.’
“Once a thief broke into the temple of Vishnu and robbed the image of its jewels. Mathur Babu and I went to the temple to see what was the matter. Addressing the image, Mathur said bitterly: ‘What a shame, Lord! You are so worthless! The thief took all the ornaments from Your body, and You couldn’t do a thing about it.’ Thereupon I said to Mathur: ‘Shame on you! How improper your words are! To God, the jewels you talk so much about are only lumps of clay. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune, is His Consort. Do you mean to say that He should spend sleepless nights because a thief has taken your few rupees? You mustn’t say such things.’
“Can one ever bring God under control through wealth? He can be tamed only through love. What does He want? Certainly not wealth! He wants from His devotees love, devotion, feeling, discrimination, and renunciation.
Different classes worshippers
“One looks on God exactly according to one’s own inner feeling. Take, for instance, a devotee with an excess of tamas. He thinks that the Divine Mother eats goat. So he slaughters one for Her. Again, the devotee endowed with rajas cooks rice and various other dishes for the Mother. But the sattvic devotee doesn’t make any outer show of his worship. People don’t even know he is worshipping. If he has no flowers, he worships God with mere Ganges water and the leaves of the bel-tree. His food offering to the Deity consists of sweetened puffed rice or a few candies. Occasionally he cooks a little rice pudding for the Deity
“There is also another class of devotees, those who are beyond the three gunas. They have the nature of a child. Their worship consists in chanting God’s name-just His name.
Meaning of Keshab’s illness
(To Keshab, with a smile) “Why is it that you are ill? There is a reason for it. Many spiritual feelings have passed through your body; therefore it has fallen ill. At the time an emotion is aroused, one understands very little about it. The blow that it delivers to the body is felt only after a long while. I have seen big steamers going by on the Ganges, at the time hardly noticing their passing. But oh, my! What a terrific noise is heard after a while, when the waves splash against the banks! Perhaps a piece of the bank breaks loose and falls into the water.
“An elephant entering a hut creates havoc within and ultimately shakes it down. The elephant of divine emotion enters the hut of this body and shatters it to pieces.
“Do you know what actually happens? When a house is on fire, at first a few things inside burn. Then comes the great commotion. Just so, the fire of Knowledge at first destroys such enemies of spiritual life as passion, anger, and so forth. Then comes the turn of ego. And lastly a violent commotion is seen in the physical frame. 356"You may think that everything is going to be over. But God will not release you as long as the slightest trace of your illness is left. You simply cannot leave the hospital if your name is registered there. As long as the illness is not perfectly cured, the doctor won’t give you a permit to go. Why did you register your name in the hospital at all?” (All laugh.)