Three Yogas

There are the paths of:

• jnāna
• karma
• bhakti

If you are sincere, you will attain God in the end, whichever path you follow. Roughly speaking, there are three kinds of yoga: jnanayoga, karma yoga, and bhaktiyoga.

“What is jnanayoga? The Jnāni seeks to realize Brahman. He discriminates, saying, ‘Not this, not this’. He discriminates, saying, ‘Brahman is real and the universe illusory.’ He discriminates between the Real and the unreal. As he comes to the end of discrimination, he goes into samādhi and attains the Knowledge of Brahman.

What is karmayoga? Its aim is to fix one’s mind on God by means of work. That is what you are teaching. It consists of breath-control, concentration, meditation, and so on, done in a spirit of detachment. If a householder performs his duties in the world in a spirit of detachment, surrendering the results to God and with devotion to God in his heart, he too may be said to practise karmayoga.

If a person performs worship, japa, and other forms of devotion, surrendering the results to God, he may be said to practise karmayoga.

Attainment of God alone is the aim of karmayoga.

What is bhaktiyoga? It is to keep the mind on God by chanting His name and glories. For the Kaliyuga the path of devotion is easiest. This is indeed the path for this age.

Difficulties of the paths of jnāna and karma

“The path of karma is very difficult. First of all, as I have just said, where will one find the time for it nowadays? Where is the time for a man to perform his duties as enjoined in the scriptures? Man’s life is short in this age. Further, it is extremely difficult to perform one’s duties in a spirit of detachment, without craving the result. One cannot work in such a spirit without first having realized God. Attachment to the result somehow enters the mind, though you may not be aware of it.

“To follow jnanayoga in this age is also very difficult. First, a man’s life depends entirely on food. Second, he has a short span of life. Third, he can by no means get rid of body-consciousness.

The Knowledge of Brahman is impossible without the destruction of body-consciousness. The Jnāni says: ‘I am Brahman; I am not the body. I am beyond hunger and thirst, disease and grief, birth and death, pleasure and pain.’

How can you be a Jnāni if you are conscious of disease, grief, pain, pleasure, and the like? A thorn enters your flesh, blood flow from the wound, and you suffer very badly from the pain; but nevertheless, if you are a Jnāni you must be able to say: ‘Why, there is no thorn in my flesh at all. Nothing is the matter with me’

Therefore bhaktiyoga is prescribed for this age. By following this path one comes to God more easily than by following the others. One can undoubtedly, reach God by following the paths of jnāna and karma, but they are very difficult paths.

God fulfils all desires of His devotees

Bhaktiyoga is the religion for this age. But that does not mean that the lover of God will reach one goal and the philosopher and worker another. It means that if a person seeks the Knowledge of Brahman he can attain It by following the path of bhakti, too. God, who loves His devotee, can give him the Knowledge of Brahman if He so desires.

But the bhakta wants to realize the Personal God endowed with form and talk to Him.

He seldom seeks the Knowledge of Brahman. But God, who does everything at His pleasure, can make His devotee the heir to His infinite glories if it pleases Him. He gives His devotee both the Love of God and the Knowledge of Brahman. If one is able somehow to reach Calcutta, one can see the Maidan and the museum and other places too. The thing is how to reach Calcutta.

By realizing the Divine Mother of the Universe, you will get Knowledge as well as Devotion. You will get both. In bhava samādhi you will see the form of God, and in nirvikalpa samādhi you will realize Brahman, the Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. In nirvikalpa samādhi ego, name, and form do not exist.

A lover of God prays to the Divine Mother: ‘O Mother, I am very much afraid of selfish actions. Such actions have desires behind them, and if I perform them I shall have to reap their fruit. But it is very difficult to work in a detached spirit. I shall certainly forget Thee, O Mother, if I involve myself in selfish actions. Therefore I have no use for them. May my actions, O Divine Mother, be fewer every day till I attain Thee. May I perform, without attachment to the results, only what action is absolutely necessary for me. May I have great love for Thee as I go on with my few duties. May I not entangle myself in new work so long as I do not realize Thee. But I shall perform it if I receive Thy command. Otherwise not.’ "

Pilgrimage

PUNDIT: “How far did you go in visiting the sacred places?”

MASTER: “Oh, I visited a few places. (With a smile) But Hazra went farther and also climbed higher. He visited Hrishikesh, but I didn’t go so far or so high. “You must pave noticed kites and vultures soaring very high in the sky; but their eyes are always fixed on the charnel-pits. Do you know the meaning of ‘charnel-pits’? It is ‘woman and gold’. “What is the use of making pilgrimages if you can attain love of God remaining where you are? I have been to Benares and noticed the same trees there as here. The same green tamarind-leaves!

Pilgrimage becomes futile if it does not enable you to attain love of God. Love of God is the one essential and necessary thing. Do you know the meaning of ‘kites and vultures’? There are many people who talk big and who say that they have performed most of the duties enjoined in the scriptures. But with all that their minds are engrossed in worldliness and deeply preoccupied with money, riches, name, fame, creature comforts, and such things.”

PUNDIT: “It is true, sir. Going on a pilgrimage is like seeking diamonds and gems, while discarding the precious stone that is worn by Narayana Himself on His breast.” MASTER: “I want you to remember this. You may impart thousands of instructions to people, but they will not bear fruit except in proper time. On going to bed, a child said to his mother, ‘Mother, please wake me up when I feel the call of nature.’ The mother said:

‘Don’t worry about it, my child. That call will wake you up itself.’ (All laugh.) One feels yearning for God at the proper time. Three kinds of teachers

There are three classes of physicians. The physicians of one class feel the patient’s pulse and go away, merely prescribing medicine. As they leave the room they simply ask the patient to take the medicine. They are the poorest class of physicians. Likewise, there are teachers who only give instruction, but do not stop to see whether their teachings have produced a good or bad effect. They do not think at all about the disciple.

There are physicians of another class, who prescribe medicine and ask the patient to take it. If the patient is unwilling to follow their directions, they reason with him. They are the mediocre physicians. Likewise, there are mediocre teachers. They give instruction to the student and, further, try to persuade him in various ways to follow the instruction.

“Lastly, there are the physicians of the highest class. If the patient does not respond to their gentle persuasion, they even exert force upon him. If necessary, they press their knees on the patient’s chest and force the medicine down his throat.

Likewise, there are teachers of the highest class, who even exert force to direct the mind of the pupil toward God.”

PUNDIT: Sir, if there are such superior teachers as you have described, then why should you say that one does not get the Knowledge of God until the right time comes?”

MASTER: “You are right. But what will the physician do if the medicine runs out of the patient’s mouth and doesn’t reach his stomach? In such a case even the best physician can’t do anything.

The teacher should judge the fitness of the student before giving him instruction. But you don’t discriminate in your instruction. When a young man comes to me for instruction, first of all I ask him about his relatives at home. Suppose he has lost his father; suppose his father has left some debts for him. How can such a person direct his mind to God? Are you listening to me?”

PUNDIT: “Yes, sir. I am paying attention to every word.”

MASTER: “One day some Sikh soldiers came to the temple garden at Dakshineswar. I met them in front of the Kāli temple. One of them referred to God as very compassionate.

‘Is that true? But how do you know?’ He answered, ‘Because, sir, God gives us food and takes every care of us.’ I said: ‘Why should that surprise you? God is the Father of us all. Who will look after the child if the father doesn’t? Do you mean to say that the people of the neighbouring village should look after the child?”

NARENDRA: “Then shouldn’t we call God kind?”

MASTER: “Have I forbidden you to? What I mean is that God is our very own. He is not a stranger to us.”

PUNDIT: “Priceless words!”

MASTER (to Narendra): “I listened to your singing, but I didn’t enjoy it. So I left the room. Your mind is now set on seeking a job, and therefore your song sounded dull.”

Narendra flushed. He felt ashamed of himself and remained silent.

The Master asked for a drink of water. A glass of water had been placed near him, but he could not take it. He asked for some fresh water. Later it was found that a man of immoral character had touched the first glass.

PUNDIT (to Hazra): “You live in his company day and night. You must be very happy.”

MASTER (with a smile): “This is indeed a great occasion for me. Today I have seen the crescent moon of the second day of the bright fortnight. (All laugh.) Do you know why I referred to the moon of the second day? Sita once said to Ravana, ‘You are the full moon and Rāma is the crescent moon of the second day of the bright fortnight.’ Ravana did not understand the meaning of these words. He thought Sita was flattering him and became exceedingly happy.

But Sita meant that Ravana had reached the fullest limit of his power and prosperity, and that thenceforth he would wane like the full moon. Rāma, on the other hand, was like the moon of the second day. He would wax day by day.

The Master was about to take his leave. The pundit and his friends bowed low before him.

It was not yet dusk, and Sri Ramakrishna returned to Ishan’s house with the devotees.

The Master took his seat in the drawing-room with Ishan and his sons, a pundit, and a few devotees.

MASTER (smiling to Ishan): “I said to Pundit Shashadhar: ‘You have hardly set your foot on the tree, and yet you aspire to lay hold of a big bunch of fruit. First of all practise some spiritual discipline. Then you may teach others.’ "

ISHAN: “Every preacher thinks that he enlightens others. The glowworm also may think that it illumines the world. Imagining this to be the glow–worm’s feeling, someone said to it: ‘O glow–worm, how can you bring light to the world? You only reveal the intensity of the darkness.’

MASTER (with a smile): “But Shashadhar is not just a scholar. He also has a little discrimination and dispassion.”

A pundit who was present said to Sri Ramakrishna, “You are indeed a great soul.”

MASTER: “You may say that about sages like Nārada, Prahlada, or Sukadeva. I am like your son.

“Of course, in one sense your words are true. It is said that in one respect the devotee of God is greater than God Himself, because he carries God in his heart. (All rejoice.) It is said in the Vaishnava books: ‘A devotee regards himself as a higher, and God as a lower, being.’

Yaśoda, the mother of Krishna, was about to fetter Krishna, who was God Incarnate, with chains. She believed that no one but herself could take care of Krishna. “Sometimes God acts as the magnet and the devotee as the needle. God attracts the devotee to Himself. Again, sometimes the devotee acts as the magnet and God as the needle. Such is the attraction of the devotee that God comes to him, unable to resist his love.”

The Master was about to leave for Dakshineswar. Ishan and the other devotees stood around him while he gave Ishan various words of advice.

Advice to householders

MASTER: “A devotee who can call on God while living a householder’s life is a hero indeed. God thinks: ‘He who has renounced the world for My sake will surely pray to Me.

He must serve Me. Is there anything very remarkable about it? People will cry shame on him if he fails to do so. But he is blessed indeed who prays to Me in the midst of his worldly duties. He is trying to find Me, overcoming a great obstacle-pushing away, as it were, a huge block of stone weighing a ton. Such a man is a real hero.’ "

PUNDIT: “You are right, sir. The scripture says the same thing. There is in the Mahabharata the story of the ‘pious hunter’ and the ‘chaste woman’. Once a hermit was disturbed in his meditation by a crow. When he cast an angry glance at the bird, it was reduced to ashes. The hermit said to himself: ‘I have destroyed the crow by a mere glance.

I must have made great progress in spiritual life.’ One day he went to a woman’s house to beg his food. She was devoted to her husband and served him day and night; she provided him with water to wash his feet and even dried them with her hair. When the hermit knocked at her door for alms, she was serving her husband and could not open the door at once. The hermit, in a fit of anger, began to curse her.

The chaste woman answered from the inner apartments: ‘I am not your crow. Wait a few minutes, sir. After finishing my service to my husband I shall give you my attention.’ The hermit was very much surprised to find that this simple woman was aware of his having burnt the crow to ashes.

He wanted her to give him spiritual instruction. At her bidding he went to the ‘pious hunter’ at Benares. This hunter sold meat, but he also served his parents day and night as embodiments of God. The hermit said to himself in utter amazement: ‘Why, he is a butcher and a worldly man! How can he give me the 509Knowledge of Brahman?’ But the hunter was a knower of Brahman and had acquired divine knowledge through the performance of his worldly duties. The hermit was illumined by the instruction of the ‘pious hunter’.”

The Master was about to take his leave. He was standing at the door of the next house, where Ishan’s father-in-law lived. Ishan and the other devotees stood by the Master.

They were waiting to bid him good-bye. Sri Ramakrishna said to Ishan: “Live in the world like an ant. The world contains a mixture of truth and untruth, sugar and sand. Be an ant and take the sugar.

Again, the world is a mixture of milk and water, the bliss of God-Consciousness and the pleasure of sense-enjoyment. Be a swan and drink the milk, leaving the water aside.

Live in the world like a waterfowl. The water clings to the bird, but the bird shakes it off. Live in the world like a mudfish. The fish lives in the mud, but its skin is always bright and shiny.

The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth.” Sri Ramakrishna got into the carriage and left for Dakshineswar.