Vaishnavcharan

Vaishnavcharan said to me, ‘If a person looks on his beloved as his Ishta, he finds it very easy to direct his mind to God.’ The men and women of a particular sect at Syambazar, near Kamarpukur, say to each other, ‘Whom do you love?’ ‘I love so-and-so.’

‘Then know him to be your God.’ When I heard this, I said to them: ‘That is not my way. I look on all women as my mother.’ I found out that they talked big but led immoral lives. The women then asked me if they would have salvation. ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘if you are absolutely faithful to one man and look on him as your God. But you cannot be liberated if you live with five men.’ "

RAM: “I understand that Kedār Babu has recently visited the Kartabhajas’ place.”

MASTER: “He gathers honey from various flowers. (To Ram, Nityagopal, and the others)

If a devotee believes one hundred per cent that his Chosen Ideal is God, then he attains God and sees Him.

“People of bygone generations had tremendous faith. What faith Haladhāri’s father had!

Once he was on the way to his daughter’s house when he noticed some beautiful flowers and vilwa-leaves. He gathered them for the worship of the Family Deity and walked back five or six miles to his own house.

“Once a theatrical troupe in the village was enacting the life of Rāma. When Kaikeyi asked Rāma to go into exile in the forest, Haladhāri’s father, who had been watching the performance, sprang up. He went to the actor who played Kaikeyi, crying out, ‘You wretch!’, and was about to burn the actor’s face with a torch.

He was a very pious man.

After finishing his ablutions he would stand in the water and meditate on the Deity, reciting the invocation: ‘I meditate on Thee, of red hue and four faces’, while tears streamed down his cheeks.

“When my father walked along the lanes of the village wearing his wooden sandals, the shopkeepers would stand up out of respect and say, ’there he comes!’ When he bathed in the Haldārpukur, the villagers would not have the courage to get into the water.

Before bathing they would inquire if he had finished his bath.

“When my father chanted the name of Raghuvir, his chest would turn crimson. This also happened to me. When I saw the cows at Vrindāvan returning from the pasture, I was transported into a divine mood and my body became red.

Very strong was the faith of the people in those days. One hears that God used to dance then, taking the form of Kāli, while the devotee clapped his hands keeping time.”

A hatha yogi was staying in the hut at the Panchavati. Ramprasanna, the son of Krishnakishore of Ariadāhā, and several other men had become his devotees: The yogi needed 25 rupees a month for his milk and opium; so Ramprasanna had requested Sri Ramakrishna to speak to his devotees about the yogi and get some money. The Master said to several devotees: “A hathayogi has come to the Panchavati.

Go and visit him. See what sort of man he is.”

Thakur Dada was a 27 year old man. He entered the room with a few friends and saluted the Master. He lived at Baranagore and was the son of a brahmin pundit. He was practising the kathakata in order to earn money to meet his family’s expenses. At one time he had been seized with the spirit of renunciation and had gone away from his family. Even now he practised spiritual discipline at home.

MASTER: “Have you come on foot? Where do you live?”

DADA: “Yes, sir, I have walked from home. I live at Baranagore.”

MASTER: “Have you come here for any particular purpose?”

DADA: “I have come here to visit you. I pray to God. But why do I suffer now and then from worries? For a few days I feel very happy. Why do I feel restless afterwards?”

MASTER: “I see. Things have not been fitted quite exactly. The machine works smoothly if the mechanic fits the cogs of the wheels correctly. In your case there is an obstruction somewhere.”

DADA: “Yes, sir. That must be so.”

MASTER: “Are you initiated?”

DADA: “Yes, sir.”

MASTER: “Do you have faith in your mantra?”

A friend of Thākur Dādā said that the latter could sing well. The Master asked him to sing.

Thākur Dādā sang:

I shall become a yogi and dwell in Love’s mountain cave; I shall be lost in yoga beside the Fountain-head of Bliss. I shall appease my hunger for Knowledge with the fruit of Truth; I shall worship the feet of God with the flower of Dispassion. I shall not seek a well to slake the burning thirst of my heart, But I shall draw the water of Peace into the jar of my soul. Drinking the glorious Nectar of Thy blessed Lotus Feet, I shall both laugh and dance and weep and sing on the heights of Joy. MASTER: “Ah, what a nice song! ‘Fountain-head of Bliss’! ‘Fruit of Truth’! ‘Laugh and dance and weep and sing’! Your song tastes very sweet to me. Why should you worry? “Pleasure and pain are inevitable in the life of the world. One suffers now and then from a little worry and trouble. A man living in a room full of soot cannot avoid being a little stained.”

DĀDĀ: “Please tell me what I should do now.”

MASTER: “Chant the name of Hari morning and evening, clapping your hands. Come once more when my arm is healed a bit.” Mahimacharan entered the room and saluted the Master. Sri Ramakrishna said to him: “Ah! He has sung a nice song. Please sing it again.” Thakur Dada repeated the song.

MASTER (to Mahima): “Please recite that verse, the one about devotion to Hari”

Mahimacharan recited, quoting from the Nārada Pancharatra: What need is there of penance if God is worshipped with love? What is the use of penance if God is not worshipped with love? What need is there of penance if God is seen within and without?

What is the use of penance if God is not seen within and without?

MASTER: “Recite that part also-‘Obtain from Him the love of God’.”

Mahima recited: O Brahman! O my child! Cease from practising further penances.

Hasten to Sankara, the Ocean of Heavenly Wisdom;

Obtain from Him the love of God, the pure love praised by devotees, Which snaps in twain the shackles that bind you to the world.

MASTER: “Yes, Sankara will bestow the love of God.”

MAHIMA: “One who is free from bondage is the eternal Shiva.”

MASTER: “Shame, hatred, fear, hesitation-these are the shackles. What do you say?”

MAHIMA: “Yes, sir. And also the desire to conceal, and shrinking before praise.”