M. AT DAKSHINESWAR (II)

December 26, 1883

SRI RAMAKRISHNA was in a carriage on his way to Ram’s new garden, accompanied by Manilal Mallick, M. and other devotees.

Ram had recently purchased a garden which was next to Surendra’s. Ram adored the Master as an Incarnation of God. He visited Sri Ramakrishna frequently at Dakshineswar.

Manilal Mallick was a member of the Brahmo Samaj. The Brahmos do not believe in Divine Incarnations.

MASTER (to Manilal): “To meditate on God, one should try at first to think of Him as free from upadhis, limitations. God is beyond upadhis. He is beyond speech and mind. But it is very difficult to achieve perfection in this form of meditation.

But it is easy to meditate on an Incarnation-God born as man. Yes, God in man. The body is a mere covering. It is like a lantern with a light burning inside, or like a glass case in which one sees precious things.”

Arriving at the garden, the Master got out of the carriage and accompanied Ram and the other devotees to the sacred tulsi-grove. Standing near it, he said: “How nice! It is a fine place. You can easily meditate on God here.”

Sri Ramakrishna sat down in the house, which stood to the south of the lake. Ram offered him a plate of fruit and sweets which he enjoyed with the devotees. After a short time he went around the garden.

Next Sri Ramakrishna proceeded toward Surendra’s garden. He walked on foot a little distance and saw a sādhu sitting on a couch under a tree. At once he went up to the holy man and joyfully began a conversation with him.

MASTER: “To which order of monks do you belong? Have you any title-Giri, Puri, or the like?”

SĀDHU: “People call me a paramahamsa.”

Brahman and Śakti identical

MASTER: “That is good. ‘I am Śiva’-that is a good attitude. But I must tell you something else. The process of creation, preservation, and destruction that is going on day and night is due to Śakti, the Power of God. This Primal Power and Brahman are one and the same. Śakti cannot exist without Brahman, just as waves cannot exist without water. There cannot be any instrumental music without an instrument.”

As long as God keeps us in His relative world, so long we feel that there are two. If one accepts Śakti, one accepts Brahman as well. If one is aware of night, one is also aware of day.

If one is aware of knowledge, one is also aware of ignorance.

But there is another state in which God reveals to His devotee that Brahman is beyond both knowledge and ignorance. It cannot be described in words. What exists, exists." After a pleasant conversation with the sādhu, the Master returned to the carriage, the holy man walking with him. Sri Ramakrishna looked upon him as a friend of long acquaintance, and they walked arm in arm.

The Master arrived at Surendra’s garden. The very first thing he talked about was the sādhu.

MASTER: “He is a very nice man. (To Ram) Bring him to Dakshineswar when you come. He is really a good man. There is a line in a song to the effect that a man cannot recognize a holy person unless he is holy himself.

The sādhu believes in God without form. That is good. God is both formless and endowed with form. He is many things more. The Absolute and the Relative belong to one and the same Reality. What is beyond speech and mind is born in the flesh, assuming various forms and engaging in various activities. From that one Om have sprung ‘Om Śiva’, ‘Om Kāli’, and ‘Om Krishna’. Suppose the master of a house has sent out a small boy of the family to invite people to a feast. All look on the boy with great fondness and affection because he is the son or grandson of a prominent man.”

The Master took refreshments at Surendra’s garden house and then set out for

Dakshineswar with the devotees.

Thursday, December 27, 1883

The temple garden was filled with the sweet music of the dawn service; which mingled with the morning melody from the nahabat. Leaving his bed, Sri Ramakrishna chanted the names of God in sweet tones. Then he bowed before the pictures of the different deities in his room and went to the west porch to salute the Ganges. Some of the devotees who had spent the night at the temple garden came to the Master’s room and bowed before him. Rākhāl was staying with the Master, and Baburam had come the previous evening. M. had been staying there two weeks.

Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: “I have been invited to Ishan’s this morning. Baburam will accompany me, and you too.” M. made ready to go with the Master. At eight o’clock the carriage hired for the Master stood waiting in front of the nahabat.

On all sides plants and trees were in flower, and the river sparkled in the sunlight of the bright winter’s day. The Master bowed once more before the pictures. Then, still chanting the name of the Divine Mother, he got into the carriage, followed by M. andBaburam. The devotees took with them Sri Ramakrishna’s woolen shawl, woolen cap, and small bag of spices.

Sri Ramakrishna was very happy during the trip and enjoyed it like a child. About 9AM, the carriage stopped at the door of Ishan’s house.

Ishan and his relatives greeted the Master and led him to the parlour on the first floor.

Shrish, Ishan’s son, was introduced to Sri Ramakrishna. The young man practised law at Alipur. He had been a brilliant student, having stood first in two of the university examinations, but he was extremely modest.

MASTER (to Shrish): “What is your profession?” SHRISH: “I am practising law at Alipur.”

MASTER (to M.): “For such a man to be a lawyer! (To Shrish) Well, have you any questions to ask? Perhaps you want to know how to live unattached in the world. Isn’t that so?”

SHRISH: “Under the pressure of duties people do many unrighteous things in the world.

Further, some are engaged in good work, and some in evil. Is this due to their actions in previous births? Is that why they act this way?”

MASTER: “How long should a man perform his duties? As long as he has not attained God. Duties drop away after the realization of God. Then one goes beyond good and evil. The flower drops off as soon as the fruit appears. The flower serves the purpose of begetting the fruit.

How long should a devotee perform daily devotions such as the sandhya? As long as his hair does not stand on end and his eyes do not shed tears at the name of God. These things indicate that the devotee has realized God. From these one knows that he has attained pure love of God. Realizing God one goes beyond virtue and vice. I bow my head, says Prasad, before desire and liberation;

Knowing the secret that Kāli is one with the highest Brahman,

I have discarded, once for all, both righteousness and sin.

“The more you advance toward God, the less He will give you worldly duties to perform.”

SHRISH: “It is extremely difficult to proceed toward God while leading the life of a householder.”

MASTER: “Why so? What about the yoga of practice? At Kamarpukur I have seen the women of the carpenter families selling flattened rice. Let me tell you how alert they are while doing their business. The pestle of the husking-machine that flattens the paddyconstantly falls into the hole of the mortar. The woman turns the paddy in the hole with one hand and with the other holds her baby on her lap as she nurses it.

In the mean time customers arrive. The machine goes on pounding the paddy, and she carries on her bargains with the customers’. She says to them, ‘Pay the few pennies you owe me before you take anything more.’ You see, she has all these things to do at the same time-nurse the baby, turn the paddy as the pestle pounds it, take the flattened rice out of the hole, and talk to the buyers.

This is called the yoga of practice.

15 parts of her mind out of 16 are fixed on the pestle of the husking-machine, lest it should pound her hand. With only one part of her mind she nurses the baby and talks to the buyers.

Likewise, he who leads the life of a householder should devote fifteen parts of his mind to God; otherwise he will face ruin and fall into the clutches of Death. He should perform the duties of the world with only one part of his mind.

A man may lead the life of a householder after attaining Knowledge. But he must attain Knowledge first. If the milk of the mind is kept in the water of the world, they get mixed. Therefore he should turn the milk into curd and extract butter from it by churning it in solitude; then he may keep the butter in the water of the world. Therefore, you see, spiritual discipline is necessary.

When the Aśwattha tree is a mere sapling, it must be enclosed by a fence; otherwise the cattle will eat it. But the fence may be taken away when the trunk grows thick and strong. Then even an elephant tied to the tree cannot harm it.

Therefore at the beginning the aspirant should go into solitude now and then. Spiritual discipline is necessary. You want to eat rice; suppose you sit down somewhere and say, ‘Wood contains fire and fire cooks rice.’ Can saying it cook the rice? You must get 2 pieces of wood and by rubbing them together bring out the fire. “By eating siddhi one becomes intoxicated and feels happy. But suppose you haven’t eaten the stuff or done anything else with it; you simply sit down somewhere and mutter, ‘Siddhi! siddhi!’ Will that intoxicate you or make you happy?

“You may learn a great deal from books; but it is all futile if you have no love for God and no desire to realize Him. A mere pundit, without discrimination and renunciation, has his attention fixed on ‘woman and gold’. The vulture soars very high but its eyes are fixed on the charnel-pit. “That alone is knowledge through which one is able to know God. All else is futile. Well, what is your idea about God?”

SHRISH: “Sir, I feel that there is an All-knowing Person. We get an indication of His Knowledge by looking at His creation. Let me give an illustration. God has made devices to keep fish and other aquatic animals alive in cold regions. As water grows colder, it gradually shrinks. But the amazing thing is that, just before turning into ice, the water becomes light and expands. In the freezing cold, fish can easily live in thewater of a lake: the surface of the lake may be frozen, but the water below is all liquid.

If a very cool breeze blows, it is obstructed by the ice. The water below remains warm.”

MASTER: “That God exists may be known by looking at the universe. But it is one thing to hear of God, another thing to see God, and still another thing to talk to God. Some have heard of milk, some have seen it, and some, again, have tasted it. You feel happy when you see milk; you are nourished and strengthened when you drink it. You will get peace of mind only when you have seen God. You will enjoy bliss and gain strength only when you have talked to Him.”

SHRISH: “We do not have time to pray to God.”

MASTER (with a smile): “That is true. Nothing comes to pass except at the right time.

Going to bed, a child said to his mother, ‘Mother, please wake me up when I feel the call of nature.’ ‘My son,’ said the mother, ’that urge itself will wake you up. I don’t have to wake you.’

It is all decided beforehand by God what each one shall receive. A mother-in-law used to measure rice with a dish for her daughters-in-law. But it was not enough for them. One day the dish was broken and that made the girls happy. But the mother-in-law said to them, ‘Children, you may shout and dance, but I can measure the rice with the palm of my hand.’

(To Shrish): “Surrender everything at the feet of God. What else can you do? Give Him the power of attorney. Let Him do whatever He thinks best. If you rely on a great man, he will never injure you.