Sannyāsi's discipline

“The sannyāsi’s way of living is like observing the ekadasi fast without taking even a drop of water. If he clings to enjoyment, then he has reason to be afraid. ‘Woman and gold’ is enjoyment. If a monk enjoys it, he is swallowing his own spittle, as it were.

There are different kinds of enjoyment: money, wealth, name, fame, and sense pleasures. It is not good for a sannyāsi to sit in the company of a woman devotee, or even to talk to her.

This injures him and others as well. Then others cannot learn from him; he cannot set an example to humanity. A sannyāsi keeps his body in order to teach mankind.

“To sit with a woman or talk to her a long time has also been described as a kind of sexual intercourse. There are eight kinds. To listen to a woman and enjoy her conversation is one kind; to speak about a woman is another kind; to whisper to her privately is a third kind; to keep something belonging to a woman and enjoy it is a fourth kind; to touch her is a fifth. Therefore a sannyāsi should not salute his guru’s young wife, touching her feet. These are the rules for sannyāsis.

Householders discipline

“But the case is quite different with householders. After the birth of one or two children, the husband and wife should live as brother and sister. The other seven kinds of sexual intercourse do not injure them much.

A householder has various debts: debts to the gods, to the fathers, and to the rishis. He also owes a debt to his wife. He should make her the mother of one or two children and support her if she is a chaste woman.

“Householders do not know who is a good wife and who is a bad wife, who is a vidyaŚakti and who is an avidyaŚakti. A vidyaŚakti, a good wife, has very little lust and anger. She sleeps little. She pushes her husband’s head away from her.

She is full of affection, kindness, devotion, modesty, and other noble qualities. Such a wife serves all, looking on all men as her children. Further, she helps increase her husband’s love of God.

She doesn’t spend much money lest her husband should have to work hard and thus not get leisure to think of God. “Mannish women have different traits. These are bad traits: squint eyes and hollow eyes, catlike eyes, lantern jaws like a calf’s, and pigeon-breast.”

GIRISH: “What is the way for people like us?”

MASTER: “Bhakti is the only essential thing. Bhakti has different aspects: the sattvic, the rajasic, and the tamasic. One who has sattvic bhakti is very modest and humble. But a man with tamasic bhakti is like a highwayman in his attitude toward God. He says: ‘O God, I am chanting. Your name; how can I be a sinner? O God, You are my own Mother; You must reveal your-self to me.’ "

GIRISH (smiling): “It is you, sir, who teach us tamasic bhakti.”

Different kinds of samādhi

MASTER (smiling): “There are certain signs of God-vision. When a man sees God he goes into samādhi. There are 5 kinds of samādhi.

1. He feels the Mahāvāyu rise like an ant crawling up.

2. He feels It rise like a fish swimming in the water.

3. He feels It rise like a snake wriggling along.

4. He feels It rise like a bird flying-flying from one branch to another.

5. He feels It rise like a monkey making a big jump;

The Mahāvāyu reaches the head with one jump, as it were, and samādhi follows.

There are 2 other kinds of samādhi.

1. The sthita samādhi

The aspirant totally loses outer consciousness: he remains in that state a long time, it may be for many days.

2. The Unmana Samādhi

It withdraws the mind suddenly from all sense-objects and unite it with God.

GIRISH: “Can one realize God by sādhanā ?”

MASTER: “People have realized God in various ways. Some through much austerity, worship, and devotion; they have attained perfection through their own efforts. Some are born perfect, as for example Nārada and Sukadeva; they are called nityasiddha, eternally perfect. There are also those who have attained perfection all of a sudden; it is like a man’s unexpectedly coming into a great fortune. Again, there are instances of people’s realizing God in a dream and by divine grace.”

Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna sang, intoxicated with divine fervour:

Can everyone have the vision of Syama? Is Kāli’s treasure for everyone?

Oh, what a pity my foolish mind will not see what is true! . . .

Sri Ramakrishna remained in ecstasy a few moments. Girish and the other devotees were seated before him. A few days earlier Girish had been very rude to the Master at the Star Theatre; but now he was in a calm state of mind. MASTER (to Girish): “This mood of yours is very good; it is peaceful. I prayed about you to the Divine Mother, ‘O Mother, make him peaceful so that he won’t abuse me.’ " GIRISH (to M.): “I feel as if someone were pressing my tongue. I can’t talk.” Sri Ramakrishna was still in an indrawn mood; he seemed to be gradually forgetting the men and the objects around him. He tried to bring his mind down to the relative world. He looked at the devotees. 769Looking at M., he said: “They all come to Dakshineswar. Let them. Mother knows everything.” To a young man of the neighbourhood he said: “Hello! What do you think? What is the duty of man?” All sat in silence. To Narayan he said: “Don’t you want to pass the examinations? But, my dear child, a man freed from bondage is Śiva; entangled in bondage, he is jiva.” Sri Ramakrishna was still in the God-intoxicated mood. There was a glass of water near him. He drank the water. He said to himself, “Why, I have drunk water in this mood!” It was not yet dusk. Sri Ramakrishna was talking to Atul, who was seated in front of him. Atul was Girish’s brother and a lawyer of the High Court of Calcutta. A brahmin neighbour was also seated near him. MASTER (to Atul): “All I want to tell you is this. Follow both; perform your duties in the world and also cultivate love of God.” BRAHMIN: “Can anyone but a brahmin achieve perfection?” MASTER: “Why should you ask that? It is said that in the Kaliyuga the sudras achieve love of God. There are the instances of Savari, Ruhidas, the untouchable Guhaka, and others.” NARAYAN (smiling): “Brahmins and sudras-all are one.” BRAHMIN: “Can a man realize God in one birth?” MASTER: “Is anything impossible for the grace of God? Suppose you bring a light into a room that has been dark a thousand years; does it remove the darkness little by little? The room is lighted all at once. (To Atul) Intense renunciation is what is needed. One should be like an unsheathed sword. When a man has that renunciation, he looks on his relatives as black cobras and his home as a deep well. “One should pray to God with sincere longing. God cannot but listen to prayer if it is sincere.” All sat in silence, pondering Sri Ramakrishna’s words.

MASTER (to Atul): “What is worrying you? Is it that you haven’t that grit, that intense restlessness for God?”

How to cultivate longing for God

ATUL: “How can we keep our minds on God?”

MASTER: “Abhyāsa Yoga, the yoga of practice. You should practise calling on God every day. It is not possible to succeed in one day; through daily prayer you will come to long for God.

“How can you feel that restlessness if you are immersed in worldliness day and night?

Formerly Jadu Mallick enjoyed spiritual talk; he liked to engage in it himself. But nowadays he doesn’t show that much interest. He surrounds himself with flatterers day and night and indulges in worldly talk.”

It was dusk. The lamp was lighted in the room. Sri Ramakrishna chanted the divine names. He was singing and praying. He said, “Chant the name of Hari, repeat the name of Hari, sing the name of Hari.” Again he said, “Rāma! Rāma! Rāma!” Then: “O Mother! Thou dost ever enjoy Thine eternal Sports. Tell us, O Mother, what is the way? We have taken refuge in Thee; we have taken shelter at Thy feet.” Finding Girish restless, Sri Ramakrishna remained silent a moment. He asked Tejchandra to sit near him. The boy sat near the Master. He whispered to M. that he would have to leave soon.

MASTER (to M.): “What did he say?”

M: “He said he would have to go home.”

MASTER: “Why do I attract these boys to me so much? They are pure vessels untouched by worldliness. A man cannot assimilate instruction if his mind is stained with worldliness. Milk can be safely kept in a new pot; but it turns sour if kept in a pot in which curd has been made. You may wash a thousand times a cup that has held a solution of garlic, but still you cannot remove the smell.” Master at the theatre Sri Ramakrishna arrived at the Star Theatre, on Beadon Street, to see a performance of Vrishaketu He sat in a box, facing the south. M. and other devotees were near him. MASTER (to M.): “Has Narendra come?” M: “Yes, sir.” The performance began. Karna and his wife Padmavati sacrificed their son to please God, who had come to them in the guise of a brahmin to test Karna’s charity. During this scene one of the devotees gave a suppressed sigh. Sri Ramakrishna also expressed his sorrow. After the play Sri Ramakrishna went to the recreation room of the theatre. Girish and Narendra were already there. The Master stood near Narendra and said, “I have come.” Sri Ramakrishna took a seat. The orchestra was playing in the auditorium. MASTER (to the devotees): “I feel happy listening to the concert. The musicians used to play on the sanai at Dakshineswar and I would go into ecstasy. Noticing this, a certain sādhu said, ‘This is a sign of the Knowledge of Brahman.’” 771The orchestra stopped playing and Sri Ramakrishna began the conversation. MASTER (to Girish): “Does this theatre belong to you?” GIRISH: “It is ours, sir.” MASTER: “‘Ours’ is good; it is not good to say ‘mine’. People say ‘I’ and ‘mine’; they are egotistic, small-minded people.” NARENDRA: “The whole world is a theatre.” MASTER: “Yes, yes, that’s right. In some places you see the play of vidyā and in some, the play of avidyā.” NARENDRA: “Everything is the play of vidyā.” MASTER: “True, true. But a man realizes that when he has the Knowledge of Brahman; But for a bhakta, who follows the path of divine love, both exist-Vidyā-māyā and Avidyā- māyā. “Please sing a little.” Narendra sang: Upon the Sea of Blissful Awareness waves of ecstatic love arise: Rapture divine! Play of God’s Bliss! Oh, how enthralling! Wondrous waves of the sweetness of God, ever new and ever enchanting, Rise on the surface, ever assuming Forms ever fresh. Then once more in the Great Communion all are merged, as the barrier walls Of time and space dissolve and vanish: Dance then, O mind! Dance in delight with hands upraised, chanting Lord Hari’s holy name. As Narendra sang the words, “Then once more in the Great Communion all are merged”, Sri Ramakrishna said to him, “One realizes this after attaining the Knowledge of Brahman; then all is vidyā, Brahman, as you said.” As Narendra sang the line, “Dance in delight with hands upraised, chanting Lord Hari’s holy name”, the Master said to him, “Sing that line twice.” After the song Sri Ramakrishna resumed the conversation. 772GIRISH: “Devendra Babu hasn’t come. He says in a mood of wounded pride: ‘We haven’t any stuff inside us, no filling of thickened milk. We are filled only with worthless lentil- paste. Why should we go there?”

MASTER (surprised): “Does he say that? He never said so before.” Sri Ramakrishna took some refreshments and handed some to Narendra. JATIN DEVA (to the Master): “You always say: ‘Narendra, eat this! Eat that!’ Are the rest of us fools? Are we like straw washed ashore by the flood-tide?”

Sri Ramakrishna loved Jatin dearly. Jatin visited the Master now and then at Dakshineswar and occasionally spent the night there. He belonged to an aristocratic family of Sobhabazar. The Master said laughingly to Narendra, “He is talking about you.”

Sri Ramakrishna laughed and showed his affection to Jatin by touching his chin. He said to Jatin, “Come to Dakshineswar; I’ll give you plenty to eat.”

The Master went into the auditorium to see a farce. He sat in a box. He laughed at the conversation of the maidservant. After a while he became absent-minded and whispered a few words to M.

MASTER (to M.): “Well, is what Girish Ghosh says true?” Girish had lately been speaking of Sri Ramakrishna as an Incarnation of God. M: “Yes, sir, it must be true. Otherwise why should it appeal to our minds?” MASTER: “You see, a change is coming over me. The old mood has changed. I am not able to touch any metal now.” M. listened to these words in wonder. MASTER: “There is a very deep meaning in this new mood.” Was the Master hinting that a God-man cannot bear any association with worldly treasure? MASTER (to M.): “Well, do you notice any change in me?” M: “In what respect, sir?” MASTER: “In my activities.”

M: “Your activities are increasing as more people come to know about you.” MASTER: “Do you see? What I said before is now coming true.” After a few moments he said, “Can you tell me why Paltu can’t meditate well?” 773Sri Ramakrishna was ready to leave for Dakshineswar. He had remarked to a devotee about Girish, “You may wash a thousand times a cup that has held a solution of garlic; but is it ever possible to get rid of the smell altogether?” Girish was offended by this remark. When the Master was about to leave, Girish spoke. GIRISH: “Will this smell of garlic go?” MASTER: “Yes, it will.” GIRISH: “So you say it will.”

MASTER: “All smell disappears when a blazing fire is lighted. If you heat the cup smelling of garlic, you get rid of the smell; it becomes a new cup. “The man who says he will not succeed will never succeed. He who feels he is liberated is indeed liberated; and he who feels he is bound verily remains bound. He who forcefully says, ‘I am free’ is certainly free; and he who says day and night, ‘I am bound’ is certainly bound.”