Revelation about himself

MASTER (to M.): “There is no outsider here. The other day, when Harish was with me, I saw Satchidananda come out of this sheath, It said, ‘I incarnate Myself in every age.’ I thought that I myself was saying these words out of mere fancy. I kept quiet and watched.

Again Satchidananda Itself spoke, saying, ‘Chaitanya, too, worshipped Śakti.’ "

The devotees listened to these words in amazement. Some wondered whether God Himself was seated before them in the form of Sri Ramakrishna. The Master paused a moment. Then he said, addressing M., “I saw that it is the fullest manifestation of Satchidananda; but this time the Divine Power is manifested through the glory of sattva.”

The devotees sat spellbound.

MASTER (to M.): “Just now I was saying to the Mother, ‘I cannot talk much.’ I also said to Her, ‘May people’s inner consciousness be awakened by only one touch!’ You see, such is the power of Yogamaya that She can cast a spell. She did so at Vrindāvan.

That is why Subol was able to unite Sri Krishna and Radhika. Yogamaya, the Primal Power, has a power of attraction. I applied that power myself.

(To M.) “Well, do you think that those who come here are realizing anything?”

M: “Yes, sir, it must be so.”

MASTER: “How do you know?”

M. (smiling): “Everyone says, ‘Whoever goes to him doesn’t return to the world.’

MASTER (smiling): “A bullfrog was caught by a water-snake. The snake could neither swallow the frog nor let it go. As a result the frog suffered very much; he croaked continuously. And the snake suffered too. But if the frog had been seized by a cobra, he would have been quiet after one or two croaks. (All laugh.) (To the young devotees) “Read the Bhaktichaitanya- chandrika by Trailokya. Ask Trailokya for a copy. He has written well about Chaitanyadeva.”

A DEVOTEE: “Will he give it to us?”

MASTER (smiling): “Why not? If a farmer has a good crop of melons he can easily give away two or three. (All laugh.) Won’t Trailokya give you the book free?

(To Paltu) “Come here now and then.”

PALTU: “I shall come whenever I can.”

MASTER: “Will you see me in Calcutta when I go there?”

PALTU: “Yes, I shall try.”

MASTER; “That’s the answer of a calculating mind.”

PALTU: “If I don’t say, ‘I shall try’, I may be a liar.”

MASTER (to M.): “I don’t mind the lies of these boys. They are not free.

(To Haripada) “Why hasn’t Mahendra Mukherji come here lately?”

HARlPADA: “I’m not quite sure why.”

M. (smiling): “He’s practising jnanayoga!”

MASTER: “No, it’s not that. The other day he promised to send me in his carriage to the theatre to see a play about the life of Prahlada; but he didn’t send the carriage. Perhaps that is why he doesn’t come.”

M: “One day I saw Mahima Chakravarty and had a talk with him. It seems that Mahendra visits him.”

MASTER: “But Mahima talks about bhakti also. He loves to recite the hymn: ‘what need is there of penance if God is worshipped with love?’ "

M. (smiling): “He says that because you make him say it.”

About Girish

Girish Chandra Ghosh was always talking to the devotees about the Master.

HARIPADA: “Girish Ghosh sees many visions nowadays. After going home from here he remains absorbed in spiritual moods and sees many things.”

MASTER: ‘That may be true. Coming to the Ganges, one sees many things-boats, ships, and what not.”

HARIPADA: “Girish Ghosh says: ‘From now on I shall occupy myself only with my work.

In the morning, on the stroke of the clock, I shall sit down with my pen and ink-pot and write for the whole day.’ He makes the resolve, no doubt, but cannot carry it out. No sooner do we visit him than he begins to talk about you. You asked him to send Narendra here in a carriage. He said, ‘I shall hire a carriage for Narendra.’ "

At 5pm, the younger Naren was ready to go home. Sri Ramakrishna stood by his side on the northeast verandah and gave him various instructions. Then the boy saluted the Master and departed.

Many of the devotees also took their leave.

Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the small couch talking to Mohini. Mohini’s wife was almost mad with grief on account of her son’s death. Sometimes she laughed and sometimes she wept. But she felt peaceful in Sri Ramakrishna’s presence.

MASTER: “How is your wife now?”

MOHINI: “She becomes quiet whenever she is here; but sometimes at home she becomes very wild. The other day she was going to kill herself.”

When Sri Ramakrishna heard this he appeared worried. Mohini said to him humbly,

“Please give her a few words of advice.”

MASTER: “Don’t allow her to cook. That will heat her brain all the more. And keep her in the company of others so that they may watch her.” It was dusk. Preparations were going on in the temples for the evening worship. The lamp was lighted in the Master’s room and incense was burnt. Seated on the small couch, Sri Ramakrishna saluted the Divine Mother and chanted Her name in a tender voice.

There was nobody in the room except M, who was sitting on the floor.

Sri Ramakrishna rose from the couch. M also stood up. The Master asked him to shut the west and north doors of the room. M obeyed and stood by Sri Ramakrishna on the porch.

The Master said that he wanted to go to the Kāli temple. Leaning on M.’s arm, he came down to the terrace of the temple. He asked M. to call Baburam and sat down.

After visiting the Divine Mother, the Master returned to his room across the court, chanting, “O Mother! Mother! Rajarajesvari!”

Sri Ramakrishna entered his room and sat on the small couch. He had been passing through an extraordinary state of mind: he could not touch any metal. He had said a few days before, “It seems that the Divine Mother has been removing from my mind all ideas of possession.”

He had been eating from plantain-leaves and drinking water from an earthen tumbler. He could not touch a metal jar; so he had asked the devotees to get a few earthen jars for him. If he touched metal plates or pots, his hand ached as if stung by a horned fish.

Prasanna had brought a few earthen pots, but they were very small. The Master said with a smile: These pots are too small. But he is a nice boy. Once I asked him to take off his clothes, and he stood naked in front of me. What a child he is!” Tārak of Belgharia arrived with a friend and bowed low before Sri Ramakrishna, who was sitting on the small couch. The room was lighted by an oil lamp. A few devotees were sitting on the floor.

Tārak was about twenty years old, and married. His parents did not allow him to come to Sri Ramakrishna. He lived mostly at his home near Bowbazar. The Master was very fond of him. Tārak’s friend had a tamasic nature; he rather scoffed at the Master and religious ideas in general.

MASTER (to Tārak’s friend): “Why don’t you go and visit the temples?”

FRIEND: “Oh, I’ve seen them before.”

MASTER: “Is it wrong for Tārak to come here?”

FRIEND: “You know best.”

MASTER (pointing to M.): “He is a headmaster.”

FRIEND: “Oh!”

Master warns Tārak

Sri Ramakrishna asked about Tatak’s health and talked with him at length. Tārak was ready to leave. Sri Ramakrishna asked him to be careful about many things.

MASTER: “My good man, beware. Beware of ‘woman and gold’. Once you sink in the māyā of a woman, you will not be able to rise. It is the whirlpool of the Viśālākśi. He who has fallen into it cannot pull himself out again. Come here now and then.”

TĀRAK: “My people at home don’t let me.”

A DEVOTEE: “Suppose someone’s mother says to him, ‘Don’t go to Dakshineswar.’

Suppose she curses him, saying, ‘If you go there you will be drinking my blood!’”

MASTER: “A mother who says that is no mother; she is the embodiment of avidyā. There is no sin in disobeying such a mother. She obstructs her son’s path to God. There is no harm in disobeying your elders for the sake of God. For Rāma’s sake Bharat did not obey his mother Kaikeyi. The gopis did not obey their husbands when they were forbidden to visit Krishna. Prahlada disobeyed his father for God. Vali disregarded the words of Sukracharya, his teacher, in order to please God. Bibhishana went against the wishes of Ravana, his elder brother, to please Rāma. But you must obey your elders in all other things. Let me see your hand.”

Sri Ramakrishna took Tārak’s hand into his own and seemed to feel its weight. A few moments later he said: “There is a little crookedness in your mind; but that will go. Pray to God a little and come here now and then. Yes, that twist will go. Is it you that have hired the house at Bowbazar?”

TĀRAK: “Not I, sir, but my parents.”

MASTER (smiling): “They or you? Is it because you are afraid of the ’tiger’?” Tārak had a young wife. Did the Master mean that a woman is like a tiger to a man?

Tārak saluted Sri Ramakrishna and took his leave. The Master lay down on the small couch. He seemed worried about Tārak. Suddenly he said to M., “Why do I worry so much about these young boys?” M. kept still. He was thinking over a reply. The Master asked him, “Why don’t you speak?”

Mohini’s wife entered the room and sat at one side. Sri Ramakrishna spoke to M. about Tārak’s friend.

MASTER: “Why did Tārak bring that fellow with him?”

M: “Perhaps he wanted a companion for the road. It is a long way from Calcutta; so he brought a friend with him.”

The Master suddenly addressed Mohini’s wife and said: “By unnatural death one becomes an evil spirit. Beware. Make it clear to your mind. Is this what you have come to after hearing and seeing so much?” Mohini was about to take his leave.

He saluted Sri Ramakrishna. His wife also saluted the Master, who stood near the north door of the room. Mohini’s wife spoke to him in a whisper.

MASTER: “Do you want to stay here?”

MOHINI’S WIFE: “Yes, I want to spend a few days with the Holy Mother at the Nahabat. May I?”

MASTER: “That will be all right. But you talk of dying. That frightens me. And the Ganges is so near!”