Goal of scriptural study

MASTER (to Narendra and the others): “Let me tell you this: really and truly I don’t feel sorry in the least that I haven’t read the Vedānta or the other scriptures. I know that the essence of the Vedānta is that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory.

What is the essence of the Gitā? It is what you get by repeating the word ten times. Then it is reversed into, ‘Tagi’, which refers to renunciation. The pupil should hear the essence of the scriptures from the guru; then he should practise austerity and devotions. A man needs the letter he has received from home as long as he has not learnt its contents. After reading it, however, he sets out to get the thing he has been asked to send. Likewise, what need is there of the scriptures if you know their essence? The next thing is the practice of spiritual discipline.”

Girish entered the room.

MASTER (to Girish): “Hello! What were you saying about me? I eat, drink, and make merry.”

GIRISH: “What should we have been saying about you? Are you a holy man?”

MASTER: “No, nothing of the sort. Truly I do not feel I am a holy man.

GIRISH: “I am not your equal even in joking.”

MASTER: “I once went to Jaygopal Sen’s garden house wearing a red bordered cloth.

Keshab was there. Looking at the red borders Keshab said: ‘What’s this? Such a flash of colour today! Such a display of red border I said, ‘I have to cast a spell on Keshab; hence this display.’ "

Narendra was going to sing again. Sri Ramakrishna asked M. to take down the Tānpura from the wall. Narendra was a long time tuning it. The Master and the devotees became impatient. Binode said, “He will tune it today and sing another day.”

(Laughter.)

Sri Ramakrishna laughed. He said: “I feel like breaking the Tānpura to pieces! What is this? Only ‘Tong-tong’! Then he will practise: ‘Tana-nana -nere-num’!”

BHAVANĀTH: “Everybody feels annoyed like this before a musical performance begins.”

NARENDRA (still tuning): “If you don’t understand it.”

MASTER (smiling): “There! He explains away our complaints!”

Narendra began to sing. Sri Ramakrishna was seated on the small couch. Nityagopal and the other devotees were on the floor.

Narendra sang:

O Mother, Thou my Inner Guide, ever awake within my heart! Day and night Thou holdest me in Thy lap. Why dost Thou show such tenderness to this unworthy child of Thine?..

Then he sang:

O my lute of a single string! Sing the blessed Mother’s name, For She is the solace of my soul. . . .

And again:

In dense darkness, O Mother, Thy formless beauty sparkles; Therefore the yogis meditate in a dark mountain cave. . . . In an ecstatic mood Sri Ramakrishna came down and sat by Narendra’s side. He began to talk, still in ecstasy.

MASTER: “Shall I sing? Fie! (To Nityagopal) What do you say? One should listen to singing to awaken the inner spirit. Nothing matters afterwards. “He has kindled the fire. That is nice. Now all is silence. That’s nice too. I am silent; you be silent too. The thing is to dive into the Elixir of Bliss.

“Shall I sing? Well, I may. Water is water whether it is still or in waves.” Narendra was seated near the Master. He was constantly worried about his financial difficulties at home. He was now twenty-three years old. Sri Ramakrishna looked at him intently.

MASTER (to Narendra, smiling): “Undoubtedly you are ‘Kha’. But you have to worry about ’taxes’; that’s the trouble.” By “taxes” the Master meant Narendra’s financial difficulties at home.

MASTER: “Krishnakishore used to say that he was ‘Kha’. One day I visited him at his home and found him worried. He wouldn’t talk to me freely. I asked him: ‘What’s the matter? Why are you brooding like this?’ Krishna kishore said: ‘The tax-collector came today. He said my pots and pans would be sold at auction if I didn’t pay my taxes. That’s what I am worrying about.’ I laughed and said: ‘How is that? You are surely ‘Kha’, the Ākāśa. Let the rascals take away your pots and pans. What is that to you?’

Occult powers

(To Narendra) “So I am saying that you are ‘Kha’. Why are you so worried? Don’t you know that Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, ‘If you have one of the eight siddhis, you may get a little power, but you will not realize Me.’ By siddhis one may acquire powers, strength, money, and such things, but not God.

Go beyond duality

“Let me tell you something else. Go beyond knowledge and ignorance. People say that such and such a one is a Jnāni; but in reality it is not so. Vasishtha was a great Jnāni, but even he was stricken with grief on account of the death of his sons. At this Lakshmana said to Rāma: ‘This is amazing, Rāma. Even Vasishtha is so grief-stricken!’

Rāma said: ‘Brother, he who has knowledge has ignorance as well. He who is aware of light is also aware of darkness. He who knows good also knows bad. He who knows happiness also know misery. Brother, go beyond duality, beyond pleasure and pain, beyond knowledge and ignorance.’ (To Narendra) So I am asking you to go beyond both knowledge and ignorance.”

Sri Ramakrishna went back to his small couch. The devotees were seated on the floor.

Surendra sat by his side. The Master cast an affectionate look on him and began to give him advice.

Advice to Surendra

MASTER (to Surendra): “Come here every now and then. Nangta used to say that a brass pot must be polished every day; otherwise it gets stained. One should constantly live in the company of holy men.

“The renunciation of ‘woman and gold’ is for sannyāsis. It is not for you.

Now and then you should go into solitude and call on God with a yearning heart. Your renunciation should be mental.

“Unless a devotee is of the heroic type he cannot pay attention to both God and the world. King Janaka lived a householder’s life only after attaining perfection through austerity and prayer. He fenced with two swords, the one of Knowledge and the other of action.”

The Master sang:

This very world is a mansion of mirth; Here I can eat, here drink and make merry.

Janaka’s might was unsurpassed; What did he lack of the world or the Spirit? Holding to one as well as the other, He drank his milk from a brimming cup!