Extracts from the book “The
Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between
Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and his disciples / devotees)
Divine Incarnations
"God sports in
the world as man. He incarnates Himself as man, as in the case of
Krishna, Rāma, and Chaitanya. Once I said to Keshab: 'The greatest
manifestation of God is in man. There are small holes in the balk of a
field, where crabs and fish accumulate in the rainy season. If you want
to find them you must seek them in the holes. If you seek God, you must
seek Him in the Incarnations.'
"The Divine
Mother of the Universe manifests Herself through this three-and-a-half cubit
man. There is a song that says:
O Mother, what a machine is this that
Thou hast made!
What pranks Thou playest with this toy
Three and a half cubits high!
What pranks Thou playest with this toy
Three and a half cubits high!
"One
needs spiritual practice in order to know God and recognize Divine
Incarnations. Big fish live in the large lake, but to see them
one must throw spiced bait in the water. There is butter in milk,
but one must churn the milk to get it. There is oil in mustard-seed,
but one must press the seed to extract the oil."
God and His devotee
"So the greatest
manifestation of God is through His Incarnations. The devotee should
worship and serve an Incarnation of God as long as He lives in a human
body. 'At the break of day He disappears into the secret chamber of His
House.'
God manifesting Himself as living
beings
"Not all, by any
means, can recognize an Incarnation of God. Assuming a human body, the
Incarnation falls victim to disease, grief, hunger, thirst, and all such
things, like ordinary mortals. Rāma wept for Sita. 'Brahman weeps,
entrapped in the snare of the five elements.'
"It
is said in the Purana that God, in His Incarnation as the Sow, lived happily
with His young ones even after the destruction of Hiranyāksha. As the
Sow, He nursed them and forgot all about His abode in heaven. At last
Śiva killed the sow body with his trident, and God, laughing aloud, went to His
own abode."
God, incarnated as man, acts like a
man
"God,
incarnating Himself as man, behave exactly like a man. That is why it is
difficult to recognize an Incarnation. When God becomes man, He is
exactly like man. He has the same hunger, thirst, disease, grief, and
sometimes even fear. Rāma was stricken with grief for Sita. Krishna
carried on His head the shoes and wooden stool of His father Nanda.
"In
the theatre, when an actor comes on the stage in the role of a holy man, he
behaves like one, and not like the actor who is taking the part of the
king. He plays his own role.”
"Once
an impersonator dressed himself as a world-renouncing monk. Pleased with
the correctness of his disguise, some rich people offered him a rupee. He
did not accept the money but went away shaking his head. Afterwards he
removed his disguise and appeared in his usual dress. Then he said to the
rich people, 'Please give me the rupee.' They replied: 'Why, you went away
refusing our present. Why do you ask for it now?' The man said: 'But then
I was in the role of a holy man. I could not accept money.' Likewise,
when God becomes man He behaves exactly like a man.”
