Master scolds Shyam Basu

SHYAM: “Sir, if God alone does everything, how is it that man is punished for his sins?”

MASTER: “How like a goldsmith you talk!”

NARENDRA: “In other words, Shyam Babu has a calculating mind, like a goldsmith, who weighs things with his delicate balance.”

MASTER: “I say: O my foolish boy, eat the mangoes and be happy. What is the use of your calculating how many hundreds of trees, how many thousands of branches, and how many millions of leaves there are in the orchard? You have come to the orchard to eat mangoes. Eat them and be contented.

(To Shyam) “You have been born in this world as a human being to worship God; therefore try to acquire love for His Lotus Feet. Why do you trouble yourself to know a hundred other things? What will you gain by discussing ‘philosophy’? Look here, one ounce of Liquor is enough to intoxicate you. What is the use of your trying to find out how many gallons of liquor there are in the tavern?”

DOCTOR: “Quite so. And what is more, the Wine in God’s Tavern is beyond all measure. There is no limit to It.”

MASTER (to Shyam): “Why don’t you give your power of attorney to God? Rest all your responsibilities on Him. If you entrust an honest man with your responsibilities, will he misuse his power over you? God alone knows whether or not He will punish you for your sins.”

DOCTOR: “God alone knows what is in His mind. How can a man guess it? God is beyond all our calculations.”

MASTER (to Shyam): “That’s the one theme of you Calcutta people. You all say, ‘God is stained by the evil of inequality’, because He has made one person happy and another miserable. What these rascals see in themselves they see in God, too.

“Hem used to come to the temple garden at Dakshineswar. Whenever he chanced to meet me, he would say: ‘Well, priest, there is only one thing worth having in this world, and that is honour. Isn’t that so?’ Very few indeed say that the goal of human life is the realization of God.”

SHYAM: “We hear a great deal about the subtle body. Can anyone show it to us? Can anyone demonstrate that the subtle body, when a man dies, leaves the gross body and goes away?”

MASTER: “True devotees don’t care a rap about showing you these things. What do they care whether some fool of a big man respects them or not? The desire to have a big man under their control never enters their minds.”

SHYAM: “What is the distinction between the gross body and the subtle body?”

MASTER: “The body consisting of the five gross elements is called the gross body. The subtle body is made up of the mind, the ego, the discriminating faculty, and the mind- stuff.

There is also a causal body, by means of which one enjoys the Bliss of God and holds communion with Him. The Tantra calls it the Bhagavati Tanu, the Divine Body. Beyond all these is the Maha-karana, the Great Cause. That cannot be expressed by words.

“What is the use of merely listening to words? Do something! What will you achieve by merely repeating the word ‘siddhi’? Will that intoxicate you? You will not be intoxicated even if you make a paste of siddhi and rub it all over your body. You must eat some of it. How can a man recognize yarns of different counts, such as number forty and number forty-one, unless he is in the trade? Those who trade in yarn do not find it at all difficult to describe a thread of a particular count. Therefore I say, practice a little spiritual discipline; then you will know all these-the gross, the subtle, the causal, and the Great Cause. While praying to God, ask only for love for His Lotus Feet.

“When Rāma redeemed Ahalyā from the curse, He said to her, ‘Ask a boon of Me.’

Ahalyā said, ‘O Rāma, if You deign to grant me a boon, then please fulfill my desire that I may always meditate on Your Lotus Feet, even though I may be born in a pig’s body.’

“I prayed to the Divine Mother only for love. I offered flowers at Her Lotus Feet and said with folded hands: ‘O Mother, here is Thy ignorance and here is Thy knowledge; take them both and give me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy holiness and here is Thy unholiness; take them both and give me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy virtue and here is Thy sin; here is Thy good and here is Thy evil; take them all and give me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy dharma and here is Thy adharma; take them both and give me only pure love for Thee.’

Pairs of opposites

“Dharma means good actions, like giving in charity. If you accept dharma, you have to accept adharma too. If you accept virtue, you have to accept sin. If you accept knowledge, you have to accept ignorance. If you accept holiness, you have to accept unholiness. It is like a man’s being aware of light, in which case he is aware of darkness too. If a man is aware of one, he is aware of many too. If he is aware of good, he is aware of evil too.

“Blessed is the man who retains his love for the Lotus Feet of God, even though he eats pork. But if a man is attached to the world, even though he lives only on boiled vegetables and cereals, then-“DOCTOR: “He is a wretch. But let me interrupt you here and say something. Buddha once ate pork and as a result had colic. To get rid of the pain he would take opium and thus become unconscious. Do you know the meaning of Nirvāna and such stuff? Buddha would become stupefied after eating opium. He would have no consciousness of the outer world. This is what they call Nirvāna!”

All laughed to hear this novel interpretation of Nirvāna. The conversation went on.

MASTER (to Shyam): “There is no harm in your leading the life of a householder. But do your duties in an unselfish spirit, fixing your mind on the Lotus Feet of God. You must have noticed that a man with a carbuncle on his back speaks to others in his usual way; perhaps he attends to his daily duties also; but his mind is always on the carbuncle. It is like that.

“Live in the world like an immoral woman. Though she performs her household duties, her mind is fixed on her sweetheart. (To the doctor) Do you understand that?”

DOCTOR: “Never having had such an experience myself, how can I understand?”

SHYAM: “Oh, yes! You understand a little.” (All laugh.)

MASTER: “Moreover he has had long experience in that trade. Isn’t that so?” (All laugh.)

SHYAM: “Sir, what do you think of Theosophy?”

MASTER: “The long and short of the matter is that those who go about making disciples belong to a very inferior level. So also do those who want occult powers to walk over the Ganges and to report what a person says in a far-off country and so on. It is very hard for such people to have pure love for God.”

SHYAM: “But the Theosophists have been trying to re-establish the Hindu religion.”

MASTER: “I don’t know much about them.”

SHYAM: “You can learn from Theosophy where the soul goes after death-whether to the lunar sphere or the stellar sphere or some other region.”

MASTER: “That may be. But let me tell you my own attitude. Once a man asked Hanuman, ‘What day of the lunar fortnight is it?’ Hanuman replied: ‘I know nothing about the day of the week, the day of the lunar fortnight, the position of the stars in the sky, or any such things. On Rāma alone I meditate.’ That is my attitude too.”

SHYAM: “The Theosophists believe in the existence of Mahatmas. Do you believe in them, sir?”

MASTER: “If you believe in my words, I say yes. But now please leave these matters alone. Come here again when I am a little better. Some way will be found for you toattain peace of mind, if you have faith in me. You must have noticed that I don’t accept any gift of money or clothes. We do not take any collection here. That is why so many people come.

(Laughter.)

(To the doctor) “If you won’t take offence, I shall tell you something. It is this: You have had enough of such things as money, honour, lecturing, and so on. Now for a few days direct your mind to God. And come here now and then. Your spiritual feeling will be kindled by hearing words about God.”