Extracts from the book “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna”
by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and
his disciples / devotees)
The two kinds of ego
"I said to Keshab Sen that he would not be able to
realize God without renouncing the ego. He said, 'Sir, in that case I should
not be able to keep my organization together.' Thereupon I said to him: 'I am
asking you to give up the "unripe ego", the "wicked ego".
But there is no harm in the "ripe ego", the "child ego",
the "servant ego", the "ego of Knowledge".
"The worldly man's ego, the 'ignorant ego', the
'unripe ego', is like a thick stick. It divides, as it were, the water of the
Ocean of Satchidananda. But the 'servant ego', the 'child ego', the 'ego of
Knowledge', is like a line on the water. One clearly sees that there is only
one expanse of water. The dividing line makes it appear that the water has two
parts, but one clearly sees that in reality there is only one expanse of water.
"Sankaracharya kept the 'ego of Knowledge' in
order to teach people. God keeps in many people the 'ego of a Jnāni' or the
'ego of a bhakta' even after they have attained Brahmajnana. Hanuman, after
realizing God in both His Personal and His Impersonal aspect, cherished toward
God the attitude of a servant, a devotee. He said to Rāma: 'O Rāma, sometimes I
think that You are the whole and I am a part of You. Sometimes I think that You
are the Master and I am Your servant. And sometimes, Rāma, when I contemplate
the Absolute, I see that I am You and You are I.'
"Yaśoda became grief-stricken at being separated
from Krishna, and called on Radha. Radha saw Yaśoda's suffering and revealed
herself to her as the divine Śakti, which was her real nature. She said to
Yaśoda: 'Krishna is ChitAtma, Absolute Consciousness, and I am ChitŚakti, the
Primal Power. Ask a boon of Me: Yaśoda said: 'I don't want Brahmajnana. Please
grant me only this: that I may see the form of Gopala in my meditation;
that I may always have the company of Krishna's devotees; that I may
always serve the devotees of God; that I may always chant God's name and
glories.'
Ego alone the cause of bondage
VIJAY: "Sir, why are we bound like this? Why
don't we see God?"
MASTER : "Maya is nothing but the egotism of the
embodied soul. This egotism has covered everything like a veil.
'All troubles come to an end when the ego dies.' If by the grace of God a man but
once realizes that he is not the doer, then he at once becomes a
Jivanmukta. Though living in the body, he is liberated. He has
nothing else to fear.
"This maya, that is to say, the ego, is like a
cloud. The sun cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud; when
that disappears one sees the sun. If by the grace of the guru one's ego
vanishes, then one sees God.
"Rama, who is God Himself, was only two and a
half cubits ahead of Lakshmana. But Lakshmana couldn't see Him because
Sita stood between them. Lakshmana may be compared to the jiva, and Sita
to maya. Man cannot see God on account of the barrier of maya. Just
look: I am creating a barrier in front of my face with this towel. Now
you can't see me, even though I am so near. Likewise, God is the nearest
of all, but we cannot see Him on account of this covering of maya.
Maya creates upadhis
"The jiva is nothing but the embodiment of
Satchidananda. But since maya, or ego, has created various upadhis, he
has forgotten his real Self.
"Each upadhi changes man's nature. If he
wears a fine black-bordered cloth, you will at once find him humming Nidhu
Babu's love-songs. Then playing-cards and a walking-stick follow.
If even a sickly man puts on high boots, he begins to whistle and climbs the stairs
like an Englishman, jumping from one step to another. If a man but holds
a pen in his hand, he scribbles on any paper he can get hold of-such is the
power of the pen!
"Money is also a great upadhi. The
possession of money makes such a difference in a man! He is no longer the same
person. A brahmin used to frequent the temple garden. Outwardly he
was very modest. One day I went to Konnagar with Hriday. No sooner
did we get off the boat than we noticed the brahmin seated on the bank of the
Ganges. We thought he had been enjoying the fresh air. Looking at
us, he said: 'Hello there, priest! How do you do?' I marked his tone and said
to Hriday: 'The man must have got some money. That's why he talks that
way.' Hriday laughed.
"A frog had a rupee, which he kept in his
hole. One day an elephant was going over the hole, and the frog, coming
out in a fit of anger, raised his foot, as if to kick the elephant, and said,
'How dare you walk over my head?' Such is the pride that money begets!
"One can get rid of the ego after the attainment
of Knowledge. On attaining Knowledge one goes into samādhi, and the ego
disappears. But it is very difficult to obtain such Knowledge.”
Difficulty of overcoming vanity
MASTER (to the devotees): "To lean against a
bolster! You see, it is very difficult to give up vanity. You may
discriminate, saying that the ego is nothing at all; but still it comes, nobody
knows from where. A goat's legs jerk for a few moments even after its
head has been cut off. Or perhaps you are frightened in a dream; you
shake off sleep and are wide awake, but still you feel your heart
palpitating. Egotism is exactly like that. You may drive it away,
but still it appears from somewhere. Then you look sullen and say: 'What!
I have not been shown proper respect!'"
KEDĀR: "One should be lowlier than a straw and
patient as a tree."
MASTER: "As for me, I consider myself as a speck
of the dust of the devotee's feet."
