Uselessness of mere scholarship

MASTER: “Shall I tell you the truth? What will you gain by mere scholarship? The pundits hear many things and know many things-the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras. But of what avail is mere scholarship? Discrimination and renunciation are necessary. If a man has discrimination and renunciation, then one can listen to him. But of what use are the words of a man who looks on the world as the essential thing?“What is the lesson of the Gitā? It is what you get by repeating the word ten times.

As you repeat ‘Gitā’, ‘Gitā’, the word becomes reversed into ’tagi’, ’tagi’-which implies renunciation. He alone has understood the secret of the Gitā who has renounced his attachment to ‘woman and gold’ and has directed his entire love to God. It isn’t necessary to read the whole of the Gitā. The purpose of reading the book is served if one practises renunciation.”

DR. SARKAR: “A man once explained the meaning of Radha to me. He said to me: ‘Do you know the meaning of Radha? Reverse the word and it becomes “dhara.” That’s the meaning.’ (All laugh.) Well, let us stop here for today.”

Dr. Sarkar left. M. sat near Sri Ramakrishna and repeated the conversation he had had at Dr. Sarkar’s house.

M: “Dr. Sarkar was feeding the goldfish with cardamom shells and the sparrows with flour pellets. He said to me: ‘Did you notice? The fish didn’t see the cardamom shells and therefore went away. First of all we want knowledge, and then bhakti. Did you notice those sparrows? They too flew away when I threw the pellets of flour. They have no jnāna; therefore they have no bhakti.’ "

MASTER (smiling): “That knowledge means the knowledge of the physical world, the knowledge of ‘science’.”

M: “He said further: ‘Must I believe a thing simply because a Chaitanya or a Buddha or a Christ has said it? That would not be proper.’ A grandson has been born to him. He praised his daughter-in-law highly. He said, ‘I don’t notice her at all in the house; she is so quiet and bashful.’ "

MASTER: “He has been thinking of this place [meaning himself]. His faith is growing. Is it possible to get rid of egotism altogether? Such scholarship! Such fame! And he has so much money! But he doesn’t show disrespect for what I say.”

It was about five o’clock in the afternoon. The devotees were sitting quietly in the room.

Many outsiders also were present. All sat in silence.

M. was seated very near Sri Ramakrishna, Now and then they exchanged a word or two in a low voice. The Master wanted to put on his coat. M. helped him.

MASTER (to M.): “You see, nowadays it is not necessary for me to meditate much. All at once I become aware of the Indivisible Brahman. Nowadays the vision of the Absolute is continuous with me.”

M. did not reply. The room was full of men, all silent. Presently Sri Ramakrishna spoke.MASTER: “Well, all these people are sitting here without uttering a word. Their eyes are fixed on me. They are neither talking nor singing. What do they see in me?”

M. said to the Master: “Sir, they have already heard many things you have said. Now they are seeing what they can never see anywhere else-a man always blissful, of childlike nature, free from egotism, and intoxicated with divine love. The other day you were pacing the outer room of Ishan’s house. We too were with you. A man came to me and said that he had never before seen such a happy person as you.”

M. became silent. The room was still. A few minutes later Sri Ramakrishna spoke to M. in a whisper.

MASTER: “Well, how is the doctor coming along? Does he now receive well the ideas of this place?”

M: “How can an effective seed fail to sprout? It must germinate somehow or other. I feel like laughing when I remember what you said the other day.”

MASTER: “What was that?”

M: “You said that Jadu Mallick was so absent-minded that while taking his meals he didn’t know whether a particular dish was seasoned with salt or not. If anyone pointed out to him that a dish was not salted, he would say, in a surprised voice: ‘Yes? Yes? I see it is not salted.’ You told this to the doctor because he had said to you that he was always absent-minded. You meant that he became absent-minded thinking of worldly things and not because of contemplation of God.”

MASTER: “Will he not pay attention to what I say?”

M: “Of course he will. But he forgets many of your instructions because of his numerous duties. Today, too, he made a nice remark when he said, To look on a woman as mother is a spiritual discipline of the Tantra.’”

MASTER: “What did I say to that?”

M: “You told him about that Bhagavata scholar who owned bullocks and ploughs. (The Master smiles.) Further, you told him about the king who said to the pundit of the Bhagavata, ‘You had better understand it yourself first.’

(The Master smiles.)

“Then you told him about the Gitā, whose essence is the renunciation of ‘woman and gold’, renunciation of the attachment to ‘woman and gold’. You said to him, ‘How can a worldly man who has not renounced “woman and gold” teach others?’ Perhaps he didn’t understand the drift of your words. He changed the subject.”

Sri Ramakrishna was thinking about the welfare of his devotees. Purna and Manindra were two of his young devotees. He sent Manindra to talk to Purna.It was evening. A lamp was burning in Sri Ramakrishna’s room. The devotees and visitors were sitting at a distance. The Master was introspective. Those in the room were also thinking of God and sat in silence.

A few minutes afterwards Narendra entered the room with a friend, whom he introduced to the Master as an author. Sri Ramakrishna talked with him about the metaphysical significance of Radha and Krishna. The author said that Radha and Krishna were the Supreme Brahman. Vishnu, Śiva, Durga, and the other deities had sprung from them.

Different aspects of Radha

MASTER: “That is good. There are different aspects of Radha. In Her seductive aspect She was Chandravali. In Her aspect of love She participated in Sri Krishna’s lila at Vrindāvan. Nandaghosh, Krishna’s foster-father, had the vision of the Eternal Radha. “First is the seductive Radha, then the Radha of love. If you go farther, you will see the Eternal Radha. It is like taking off the layers of an onion one by one. First the red layers, then the pink, then the white. Afterwards you don’t find any more layers. Such is the nature of the Eternal Radha, Radha the Absolute. There the discrimination following the process of ‘Not this, not this’ comes to an end.

‘There are two aspects of Radha-Krishna: the Absolute and the Relative. They are like the sun and its rays. The Absolute may be likened to the sun, and the Relative to the rays.

“A genuine bhakta dwells sometimes on the Absolute and sometimes on the Relative. Both the Absolute and the Relative belong to one and the same Reality. It is all one- neither two nor many.”

AUTHOR: “Sir, why do they speak of the ‘Krishna of Vrindāvan’ and the ‘Krishna of Mathura’?”

MASTER: “That is the view of the goswamis. But the scholars of upper India think differently. According to these scholars there is only Krishna, and no Radha. The Krishna of Dwaraka is not associated with Radha.”

AUTHOR: “Sir, Radha and Krishna are themselves the Supreme Brahman.”

MASTER: “That is good. But you must remember that everything is possible for God. He is formless, and again He assumes forms. He is the individual and He is the universe. He is Brahman and He is Śakti. There is no end to Him, no limit. Nothing is impossible for Him. No matter how high the kites and vultures soar, they can never strike against the ceiling of the sky.