Extracts from the book “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna”
by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and
his disciples / devotees)
God
and worldly duties
MASTER:
"Perform your duties in an unselfish spirit. The work that Vidyasagar
is engaged in is very good. Always try to perform your duties without
desiring any result."
M:
"Yes, sir. But may I know if one can realize God while performing
one's duties? Can 'Rama' and 'desire' coexist? The other day I read in a Hindi
couplet: 'Where Rama is, there desire cannot be; where desire is, there Rama
cannot be.' "
MASTER:
"All, without exception, perform work. Even to chant the name and
glories of God is work, as is the meditation of the non-dualist on 'I am
He'. Breathing is also an activity. There is no way of renouncing
work altogether. So do your work, but surrender the result to God."
M:
"Sir, may I make an effort to earn more money?"
MASTER:
"It is permissible to do so to maintain a religious family. You may
try to increase your income, but in an honest way. The goal of life is
not the earning of money, but the service of God. Money is not harmful if
it is devoted to the service of God."
M:
"How long should a man feel obliged to do his duty toward his wife and
children?"
MASTER:
"As long as they feel pinched for food and clothing. But one need
not take the responsibility of a son when he is able to support himself.
When the young fledgling learns to pick its own food, its mother pecks it if it
comes to her for food."
M:
"How long must one do one's duty?"
MASTER:
"The blossom drops off when the fruit appears. One doesn't have to
do one's duty after the attainment of God, nor does one feel like doing it
then. If a drunkard takes too much liquor he cannot retain consciousness.
If he takes only two or three glasses, he can go on with his work. As you
advance nearer and nearer to God, He will reduce your activities little by
little. Have no fear. Finish the few duties you have at hand, and then
you will have peace. When the mistress of the house goes to bathe after
finishing her cooking and other household duties, she won't come back, however
you may shout after her."
How
to live in the world
A
DEVOTEE: "Sir, how should one live in the world?"
MASTER:
"Live in the world as the mud fish lives in the mud. One develops
love of God by going away from the world into solitude, now and then, and
meditating on God. After that one can live in the world unattached.
The mud is there, and the fish has to live in it, but its body is not stained
by the mud. Such a man can lead the life of a householder in a spirit of
detachment"
The
Master noticed that M. was listening to his words with great attention.
MASTER
(looking at M.): "One can realize God if one feels intense dispassion for
worldly things. A man with such dispassion feels that the world is like a
forest on fire. He regards his wife and children as a deep well. If
he really feels that kind of dispassion, he renounces home and family. It
is not enough for him to live in the world in a spirit of detachment.”
"
'Woman (lust – to be read as woman for man and man for woman) and gold (greed)'
alone is maya. If maya is once recognized, it feels ashamed of itself and
takes to flight. A man put on a tiger skin and tried to frighten another
man. But the latter said: 'Ah! I have recognized you! You are our Hare.'
At that the man dressed in the skin went away smiling to frighten someone else.
