How to conquer passion

“How can a man conquer passion? He should assume the attitude of a woman.

I spent many days as the handmaid of God. I dressed myself in women’s clothes, put on ornaments, and covered the upper part of my body with a scarf, just like a woman.

With the scarf on I used to perform the evening worship before the image. Otherwise, how could I have kept my wife with me for eight months? Both of us behaved as if we were the handmaids of the Divine Mother.

I cannot speak of myself as a man. One day I was in an ecstatic mood. My wife asked me, ‘How do you regard me?’

‘As the Blissful Mother’, I said.

“Do you know the significance of the Śiva emblem? It is the worship of the symbols of fatherhood and motherhood.

The devotee worshipping the image prays, ‘O Lord, please grant that I may not be born into this world again; that I may not have to pass again through a mother’s womb.’ "

A tutor of the Tagores entered the room with some boys of the family.

Sri Ramakrishna continued talking.

Disciplines during the Sādhanā period

But a man must be extremely careful during the early stages of spiritual discipline. Then he must live far away from any woman. He must not go too close to one even if she is a great devotee of God. You see, a man must not sway his body while climbing to the roof.

Weak people should hold on to a support while going up the stairs. “But it is quite different when one reaches perfection. After the realization of God there is not much for a man to fear; he has become to a great extent secure.

The important thing is for a man somehow to climb to the roof. After that he can even dance there. But he cannot dance on the steps. Again, after climbing to the roof, you need no longer discard what you discarded before.

You find that the stairs are made of the same materials-bricks, lime, and brick-dust-as the roof. The woman you have to be so careful about at the beginning will appear to you, after the realization of God, as the Divine Mother Herself. Then you will worship her as the Divine Mother. You won’t fear her so much.

“The thing is to touch the ‘granny’, as children do in the game of hide-and-seek. Then you can do whatever you like.

Planes of mind

“Man, looking outward, sees the gross; at that time his mind dwells in the annamayakosha, the gross body. Next is the subtle body. Functioning through the subtle body, the mind dwells in the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha.

Next is the causal body. Functioning through the causal body the mind enjoys bliss; it dwells in the Ānandamaykosha. This corresponds to the semi-conscious state experienced by Chaitanya.

Last of all, the mind loses itself in the Great Cause. It disappears. It merges in the Great Cause.

What one experiences after that cannot be described in words. In his inmost state of consciousness, Chaitanya enjoyed this experience. Do you know what this state is like? Dayananda described it by saying, ‘Come into the inner apartments and shut the door. Anyone and everyone cannot enter that part of the house.

On meditation

“I used to meditate on the flame of a light. I thought of the red part as gross, the white part inside the red as subtle, and the stick-like black part, which is the innermost of all, as the causal.

“By certain signs you can tell when meditation is being rightly practised. One of them is that a bird will sit on your head, thinking you are an inert thing. “I first met Keshab at a meeting of the Adi Samaj. Several members of the Samaj were sitting on the platform. Keshab was in the middle. I saw him motionless as a log. Pointing to Keshab, I said to Mathur Babu: ‘Look there!

That bait has been swallowed by a fish.’

Because of that power of meditation he achieved what he wanted-name, fame, and so forth-through the grace of God. “One can meditate even with eyes open. One can meditate even while talking. Take the case of a man with toothache.

TUTOR OF THE TAGORES: “Yes, sir. I know that very well.” (All laugh.)

MASTER (smiling): “Yes, even when his teeth ache he does all his duties,but his mind is on the pain. Likewise one can meditate with eyes open and while talking to others as well.”

TUTOR: “One of the epithets of God is the ‘Redeemer of the sinner’. That is our hope. God is compassionate.”

MASTER: “The Sikhs, too, said that God was compassionate. I asked, ‘How is He compassionate?’ ‘Why,’ they answered, ‘He has begotten us; He has created so many things for us; He has brought us up to be men; and He protects us from danger at every step.’ Thereupon I said: ‘After begetting us, God looks after us and feeds us. Is there much credit in that?

Suppose a son is born to you. Do you expect a man from another part of the city to bring him up?’ "

Tendencies from previous births

TUTOR: “Revered sir, one man quickly succeeds in spiritual life, and another doesn’t succeed at all. How do you explain that?”

MASTER: “The truth is that a man succeeds to a great extent because of tendencies inherited from his previous births. People think he has attained the goal all of a sudden.

A man drank a glass of wine in the morning. It made him completely drunk. He began to behave improperly. People were amazed to see that he could be so drunk after one glass. But another man said, ‘Why, he has been drinking all night.’

“Hanuman burnt down the golden city of Lanka. People were amazed that a mere monkey could burn the whole city. But then they said, ‘The truth is that the city was burnt by the sighs of Sita and the wrath of Rāma.’

“Look at Lala Babu. He had so much wealth. Could he have renounced it all so suddenly without the good tendencies of his previous births? And Rani Bhavani. So much knowledge and devotion in a woman!

“In his last birth a man is endowed with sattva. His mind is directed to God. He longs for God. He withdraws his mind from worldly things. “Krishnadas Pal came here. I found him full of rajas.

But it must be said that he observed the Hindu customs. He left his shoes outside before entering the room. After a little conversation I discovered that he had no stuff inside. I asked him about man’s duty. He said, ‘To do good to the world.’

I said: ‘My dear sir, who are you? What good will you do to the world? Is the world such a small thing that you think you can help it?’ " Narayan arrived. Sri Ramakrishna was very happy to see him. He seated Narayan by his side on the small couch. He showed him his love by stroking his body and giving him sweets to eat. Then he asked Narayan tenderly, “Will you have some water?” Narayan was a student at M.’s school. At home his people beat him for visiting Sri Ramakrishna. The Master said to Narayan with an affectionate smile, “You had better get a leather jacket; then the beating won’t hurt.” Turning to Harish, the Master said that he would like to have a smoke.

Again addressing Narayan, Sri Ramakrishna said: “That woman who has established an artificial relationship of mother and son with Haripada came here the other day. I have warned Haripada very often. She belongs to the Ghoshpara sect. I asked her if she had found her ‘man’. She said yes, and mentioned a man’s name. (To M.) “Ah! Nilkantha came here the other day. What spiritual fervour he has! He said he would come here another day and sing for us. They are dancing over there. Why don’t you go and see it? (To Ramlal) There is no oil in the room. (Looking at the oil-jar) The servant hasn’t filled it.”