Divine Messages - 54 : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M'ahendranath Gupta - God and Wordly Duties

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.

Sri Ramakrishna Web Site – belurmath.org

Divine Messages - 53 : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M'ahendranath Gupta - Gunas, Devotees and Bhakti

Extracts from the book “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and his disciples / devotees)

The Three Gunas

MASTER: "Yes, it is.  But that concept is something far beyond the ordinary man.  Daya springs from sattva.  Sattva preserves, rajas creates, and tamas destroys.  But Brahman is beyond the three gunas.  It is beyond Prakriti.

"None of the three gunas can reach Truth; they are like robbers, who cannot come to a public place for fear of being arrested.  Sattva, rajas, and tamas are like so many robbers.

"Listen to a story.  Once a man was going through a forest, when three robbers fell upon him and robbed him of all his possessions.  One of the robbers said, 'What's the use of keeping this man alive?' So saying, he was about to kill him with his sword,  when the second robber interrupted him, saying: 'Oh, no! What is the use of killing him? Tie him hand and foot and leave him here.' The robbers bound his hands and feet and went away.

After a while the third robber returned and said to the man: 'Ah, I am sorry.  Are you hurt? I will release you from your bonds.' After setting the man free, the thief said: 'Come with me.  I will take you to the public highway.' After a long time they reached the road.  Then the robber said: 'Follow this road.  Over there is your house.' At this the man said: 'Sir, you have been very good to me.  Come with me to my house ' 'Oh, no!' the robber replied.  'I can't go there.  The police will know it.'

This world itself is the forest.  The three robbers prowling here are sattva, rajas, and tamas.  It is they that rob a man of the Knowledge of Truth.  Tamas wants to destroy him.  Rajas binds him to the world.  But sattva rescues him from the clutches of rajas and tamas.  Under the protection of sattva, man is rescued from anger, passion, and the other evil effects of tamas.  Further, sattva loosens the bonds of the world.  But sattva also is a robber.  It cannot give him the ultimate Knowledge of Truth, though it shows him the road leading to the Supreme Abode of God.  Setting him on the path, sattva tells him: 'Look yonder.  There is your home.' Even sattva is far away from the Knowledge of Brahman.

Three Classes Of Devotees

"As worldly people are endowed with sattva, rajas, and tamas, so also is bhakti characterized by the three gunas. 

"Do you know what a worldly person endowed with sattva is like? Perhaps his house is in a dilapidated condition here and there.  He doesn't care to repair it.  The worship hall may be strewn with pigeon droppings and the courtyard covered with moss, but he pays no attention to these things.  The furniture of the house may be old; he doesn't think of polishing it and making it look neat.  He doesn't care for dress at all; anything is good enough for him.  But the man himself is very gentle, quiet, kind, and humble; he doesn't injure anyone. 

"Again, among the worldly there are people with the traits of rajas.  Such a man has a watch and chain, and two or three rings on his fingers.  The furniture of his house is all spick and span.  On the walls hang portraits of the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and other prominent people; the building is whitewashed and spotlessly clean.  His wardrobe is filled with a large assortment of clothes; even the servants have their livery, and all that. 

"The traits of a worldly man endowed with tamas are sleep, lust, anger, egotism, and the like.

Three Kinds Of Bhakti

"Similarly, bhakti, devotion, has its sattva.  A devotee who possesses it meditates on God in absolute secret, perhaps inside his mosquito net.  Others think he is asleep.  Since he is late in getting up, they think perhaps he has not slept well during the night.  His love for the body goes only as far as appeasing his hunger, and that only by means of rice and simple greens.  There is no elaborate arrangement about his meals, no luxury in clothes, and no display of furniture.  Besides, such a devotee never flatters anybody for money. 

"An aspirant possessed of rajasic bhakti puts a tilak on his forehead and a necklace of holy rudraksha beads, interspersed with gold ones, around his neck.  (All laugh.) At worship he wears a silk cloth.

"A man endowed with tamasic bhakti has burning faith.  Such a devotee literally extorts boons from God, even as a robber falls upon a man and plunders his money.  'Bind! Beat! Kill!'-that is his way, the way of the dacoits."

Sri Ramakrishna Web Site – belurmath.org

Divine Messages - 52 : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M'ahendranath Gupta - Spiritual Progess, Unfoldment and Inspiration

Extracts from the book “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and his disciples / devotees)

Different stages of spiritual progress

"The first stage is that of the beginner.  He studies and hears.  Second is the stage of the struggling aspirant.  He prays to God, meditates on Him, and sings His name and glories.  The third stage is that of the perfect soul.  He has seen God, realized Him directly and immediately in his inner Consciousness.  Last is the stage of the supremely perfect, like Chaitanya.  Such a devotee establishes a definite relationship with God, looking on Him as his Son or Beloved."

Proper time for spiritual unfoldment

MASTER: "That is true.  Distress of mind disappears for ever.  I shall tell you a few things about yoga.  But you see, the mother bird doesn't break the shell until the chick inside the egg is matured.  The egg is hatched in the fullness of time.  It is necessary to practise some spiritual discipline.  The guru no doubt does everything for the disciple; but at the end he makes the disciple work a little himself.  When cutting down a big tree, a man cuts almost through the trunk; then he stands aside for a moment, and the tree falls down with a crash.

"The farmer brings water to his field through a canal from the river.  He stands aside when only a little digging remains to be done to connect the field with the water.  Then the earth becomes soaked and falls of itself, and the water of the river pours into the canal in torrents.”

"A man is able to see God as soon as he gets rid of ego and other limitations.  He sees God as soon as he is free from such feelings as 'I am a scholar', 'I am the son of such and such a person', 'I am wealthy', 'I am honourable', and so forth.”

“'God alone is real and all else unreal; the world is illusory'-that is discrimination.  One cannot assimilate spiritual instruction without discrimination.”

"Through the practice of spiritual discipline one attains perfection, by the grace of God.  But one must also labour a little.  Then one sees God and enjoys bliss.  If a man hears that a jar filled with gold is buried at a certain place, he rushes there and begins to dig.  He sweats as he goes on digging.  After much digging he feels the spade strike something.  Then he throws away the spade and looks for the jar.  At the sight of the jar he dances for joy.  Then he takes up the jar and pours out the gold coins.  He takes them into his hand, counts them, and feels the ecstasy of joy.  Vision-touch- enjoyment.  Isn't it so?"

Spiritual inspiration comes from God

MASTER (to the devotees): "Both worldliness and liberation depend on God's will.  It is God alone who has kept man in the world in a state of ignorance; and man will be free when God, of His own sweet will, calls him to Himself.  It is like the mother calling the child at meal-time, when he is out playing.  When the time comes for setting a man free, God makes him seek the company of holy men.  Further, it is God who makes him restless for spiritual life."

A NEIGIHBOUR: "What kind of restlessness, sir?"

MASTER: "Like the restlessness of a clerk who has lost his job.  He makes the round of the offices daily and asks whether there is any vacancy.  When that restlessness comes, man longs for God.  A fop, seated comfortably with one leg over the other, chewing betel-leaf and twirling his moustaches-a carefree dandy-, cannot attain God."

NEIGHBOUR: "Can one get this longing for God through frequenting the company of holy men?"

MASTER: "Yes, it is possible.  But not for a confirmed scoundrel.  A sannyasi's kamandalu, made of bitter gourd, travels with him to the four great places of pilgrimage but still does not lose its bitterness."

The kirtan began.  The musician sang of Sri Krishna's life in Vrindāvan:

RADHA: "Friend, I am about to die.  Give me back my Krishna."

FRIEND: "But, Radha; the cloud of Krishna was ready to burst into rain.  It was yourself who blew it away with the strong wind of your pique.  You are certainly not happy to see Krishna happy; or why were you piqued?"

RADHA: "But this pride was not mine.  My pride has gone away with Him who made me proud."

After the music Sri Ramakrishna conversed with the devotees.

MASTER: "The gopis worshipped Katyayani in order to be united with Sri Krishna.  Everyone is under the authority of the Divine Mother, Mahamaya, the Primal Energy.  Even the Incarnations of God accept the help of maya to fulfil their mission on earth.  Therefore they worship the Primal Energy.  Don't you see how bitterly Rama wept for Sita? 'Brahman weeps, ensnared in the meshes of maya.'

"Vishnu incarnated Himself as a sow in order to kill the demon Hiranyaksha.  After killing the demon, the sow remained quite happy with her young ones.  Forgetting her real nature, she was suckling them very contentedly.  The gods in heaven could not persuade Vishnu to relinquish His sow's body and return to the celestial regions.  He was absorbed in the happiness of His beast form.  After consulting among themselves, the gods sent Śiva to the sow.  Śiva asked the sow, 'Why have you forgotten yourself?' Vishnu replied through the sow's body, 'Why, I am quite happy here.' Thereupon with a stroke of his trident Śiva destroyed the sow's body, and Vishnu went back to heaven."

Sri Ramakrishna Web Site – belurmath.org

Divine Messages - 51 : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M'ahendranath Gupta - Ego

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."

Sri Ramakrishna Web Site – belurmath.org