M. (to Antevasi) — Please send this copy immediately to the press with Dilchand the bearer, and see to it that it is very carefully packed. Then they will also carefully do everything. Man’s mind keeps on flying here and there, it only fixes itself on that which personally matters to it. Ultimately selfishness concerns itself either with woman or with gold - money and fame. If one does not expect either of these the mind does not concentrate on the work in hand. Those who can concentrate otherwise are called yogis. They take every job to be God’s. So they give all their mind to everything in it. There is nothing small or big for them. They care first for quality and then for quantity. There are too few of such people. That’s why they constitute an ideal for the world. They have but one aim - that of attaining God’s grace. No man can live without work. So they also work like all others. Only they don’t take its benefit. They have but one ideal - to realise God. So they work with an unselfish motive. Such people are called karmayogis.

"The exertion and concentration of one man is transmitted to the other. It may not be so in the beginning. But if one keeps on trying it unmistakably happens later on. This also constitutes service - anything that helps the other is service if done unselfishly. It does good to one self, it leads to God-realization. He who does good to others is a better man. Because of him the society improves. The society in turn influences other peoples - they also become better gradually.

"So, the lives of the bhaktas are precious. All their actions have God-realisation as the aim. Thus work becomes worship. To be slack in work will not do. When it is so the mind does not settle on God. One may work but there is no joy. But when one works selflessly one feels a joy and is satisfied that the work has been done well.

"The life of a devotee is always a lesson to the mankind. Thakur came personally to deliver all these instructions.

"When a man gets tired of working long hours he should say to himself that he works for God, that He is there in front. That way frustration and fatigue will disappear immediately.

"Those who aim at God-realization remain engaged in work without tiring. Whether it is work or japa and dhyana, all this is work. And they will do it in the spirit of service. Such well-inclined men of service help the beginners to learn from their example. Similarly when a person feels bored with japa and dhyana, he should try hard to seek the company of those who have developed a taste for it. If he does so, his interest will return."

M. (to Antevasi) — Please keep in mind that the press-men delay the job, they don’t attend to it on time. If we keep to time and return the proofs after spending time in carefully reading them, it will have its impact on them. This will not only help them but help us too.

"The devotee is always in yoga, whether he is asleep, or dreaming - it is like the uninterrupted flow of oil.

"Besides the beginners mostly forget God amidst the pressure of work. They begin to mistake the work for God. One should then give up all work and meditate. It is like recharging a spent battery. The mind is to be resharpened like resharpening a (blunt) knife.

"There is no end to learning - it is a lifelong affair. So Thakur said, ‘I say my friend, as long do I live, so long do I learn.’ But if one can remain in samadhi all the time, it is not needed then. Otherwise, one must engage in work, taking it to be God’s."

M. (to Rajani) — By meditation on Thakur, the inside is automatically cleaned. Wasn’t Thakur an avatara? So meditating on him is meditating on God. Those who like him, you be sure that they belong to ‘higher home’. Even if they are very insignificant in the eyes of the world, they are great in the eye of God. Thakur said, ‘Those who are in their last birth will have to come here.’ This saying holds true even now. He (Thakur) lives on, only he has given up his body. I hear that some bhaktas have his darshan even now. Besides his words have taken up various forms. These forms having given up their all, have come to live in the Belur Math. Those who love God will love these people. One gains the wealth of him whom he loves.

"What is the wealth of Thakur? Yearning. Nobody has ever seen such yearning for God in anybody. Those who love him even after knowing all the incidents of his life, you may know, have yearning within them. Japa, dhyana and tapasya are practiced by so many but why don’t they see God? The answer is because they have no yearning - this is the reason. I must have His darshan in this very life. Without His darshan it is useless to assume this human body. Only those who are yearning for God like a child yearns for its mother can love Thakur.

"Why does one not develop a yearning? Because his desire for worldly enjoyment still subsists with him. He is still keen on transitory things, to enjoy worldly pleasures. So he doesn’t develop a yearning. A true yearning comes only at the end of worldly enjoyments. When one realizes that there is nothing enjoyable either in this world or in heavens or elsewhere. Then comes a thirst for the enjoyment of the God like a chataka bird yearns for crystal-clear water of direct rain. The manifestation of such a yearning was Thakur.

"The external sannyasa is only like a signboard. Only the internal sannyasa is right - the internal sannyasa means the yearning for the joy of God. Then the desire for the happiness of worldly acquisition drops off by itself. This is the state of sannyasa. Those who love Thakur earnestly, be sure that they have already developed sannyasa within. If they care they give the outer sannyasa to others."

M. (to the Elder Jiten) — Come in, do come in. When you come, we enter an ideal world otherwise we keep lying down below.

The Elder Jiten (folding hid hands) — Let the mind be united in the Ideal (God).

M. (smiling) — ‘If that was to happen what would become of them?’ Thakur said this to Keshab Sen pointing to those sitting behind the bamboo curtain, that is to say women. If he remained immersed there (in divine pursuits) how will this go on? Who will look after the household? God keeps one in the world by single bond. If that is unbearable, cry to Him, apply to him. Then he will cut asunder the bonds. He leaves some whom He wants to teach people. He even keeps some of them in the household for instructing humanity - inwardly there is complete sannyasa within.

"Thakur said to the bhaktas, ‘Live like the maid of a rich family.’ The maid takes her master’s home as her own. But she knows that it does not belong to her - her home is in the village where her son and daughter are living.’ Night and day she works constantly, but within herself she always has the curiosity when she would have a holiday and go to see her children. It is in this way that Thakur wanted the bhaktas to live in this world.

"Serve all taking them as forms of God. When one does so it opens the road of liberation. That which binds can also liberate. Only one has to take a turn. One rises by supporting oneself with the ground on which one falls.

"There are only two paths. To idealize the real (to see the world manifested by God), this is one. And to realise the ideal (to see the real God) is the other. On one path, one resorts to not this, not this, that is to say, there is no God in any worldly thing. He is not even intellect, consciousness or ego; on the other, it is this, it is this, that is to say, everything is God. The former is a destructive process. The later is constructive - God has become all this - wife, son, daughter - it is this feeling that I am serving Him in them all."

M. (to the Younger Amulya) — Why not leave now? Go and see. One must finish the work immediately. Haven’t you seen that the yogis always finish their work and then they are carefree. Except for thinking of God one should keep no other care in the mind.

"Once the worry to work begins to accumulate in the mind there is no end to it. It takes the shape of a mountain in the mind. The mind of a yogi is like a clean slate. How to have darshan of the Lord, just that alone is their care. Just as girls having dressed themselves with all care await their bride-grooms. The yogis also await Him.

"Who is a yogi? He who has promised to himself that he will only long for God, nothing else like the Chataka bird who only takes the pure crystal-clear drop of rain and no other water - it’s a promise to death."

A particular Bhakta — Shall we even have such a state?

M. — Why not? All bhaktas of Thakur are none but yogis. They can stay in their house and they may go out as sadhus. They are men only outwardly - inside they are very different. They all belong to the class of the Chataka bird. All those who like to hear about Thakur or speak about him belong to a high family.

"Those who are in the household are hidden yogis. Can the world evaluate them? All the rest are ‘brinjal sellers’ you see. Only the jeweler knows their worth. That’s why Thakur was so mad after the bhaktas. He use to cry and pray to the Mother, ‘Mother, bring these people.’ He was prepared to give them their price whether they were boys or householders. They were all poor like a church mouse but Thakur would get impatient if he did not see them. He would go running to their houses. Thakur had recognised them. All the bhaktas who are coming now or will come in future are yogis."

M. (to Antevasi) — Please send to these three ashramas today - Deoghar Vidyapith, Kashi Advaita Ashrama and the Bombay ashrama. The sadhus like to hear Thakur’s words very much. Only some of them have been able to understand all these things. Aren’t they the manifestation of his teachings?

"The main teaching of Thakur was giving up of ‘woman and gold.’ These sadhus are the embodiment of this great saying. That is why I always ask the devotees to go and be in their company. You may read a thousand books you may do anything else, nothing avails so much as the company of sadhus. Where were sadhus in Bengal? It is only at the advent of Thakur that one can see them."

M. (to Antevasi) — You must not use so much gum it goes waste. Besides it does not bind well. One must not waste anything. One should take only as much as it needed. If a man neglects such small matters he can attempt no big ones. One should be careful on all sides. All these are Thakur’s instructions. They are full of meaning. Did we know these things? He knew all. He had a divine insight - he knew quiet well how things happen.

"Our work is product of our mind. By seeing one’s conduct one can understand one’s mind. The work of a dull mind is unconsolidated. It is not pretty. Those who are serious do nothing hollow. They are ever ready to work. Besides the actions of the bhaktas will have these qualities: concentration, determination, perseverance, faith and calmness.

"People of independent countries are skilled. To preserve their independence all have to work hard. Many of their qualities are noticeable in their work. How hard working are the men of the west! How much perseverance they have!

"But all these qualities too will be there in a bhakta’s work. Most of it, of course, will be an intellect surrendered to God. That is what brings internal peace. Why? Because they are siddhyasiddhyoh nirvikarah - unmoved by success or failure (Gita, 18:26).

"Thakur could not tolerate any waste. He would scold one when he saw any waste. The people of the west say, ‘Waste not, want not.’ They are happy with the condition in which they are. Just see this, how many persons earn how much and they spend it on anything. This brings about dearth. Besides though they work throughout life there is not end to it. They have no leisure. So Thakur said, ‘It is better to be miserly than to be a spend thrift.’ Both of these are extremes. Neither is good. Even so a miser is better than one who wastes.

"Has Thakur left any aspect untouched? Every saying of his is a mantra (a sacred saying). If a commentary is attempted of these it will take volumes. He has clearly stated what is helpful and what prevents one’s transformation from animality to divinity. Not only that, he has forcefully got it done through his bhaktas. If a man has accepted this right instruction he has already succeeded, one must know and has gone up the way to cessation of suffering."

M. — They who nurse should take rest. Otherwise any one of them can fall ill at the end. One of them should act as their leader. His only duty is to take care of the health of the attendants. His should look to it that they have their food and rest at the right time. If the disease is serious the difficulty is all the more. Thakur had to be nursed for a long time. Those who attended on him themselves fell ill at times. Then Thakur would say, ‘Look here you will not attend on me.’ He would never find fault. He knew human weakness. This body that we have doesn’t last long. Even so if you follow rules it can last for some days. This is the nature of the body. So Christ said before breathing his last, ‘The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.’

A particular Bhakta — One feels very restless when there is illness in the house.

M. — Disease has a great relative value. He who suffers gets transformed many a times - he develops dispassion. And other members of the family also develop it. All these trials lead one to depend on God. Because of their affection everybody cannot leave the patient alone. And then there are limitations of the body. One falls a prey to attachment. When one’s pride fails one develops dependence. Some doctors even get an awakening. While treating Hari Maharaj some doctors had this awakening on seeing his unbelievable endurance. The Mother breaks the clod with a clod.

"In the beginning, people think that by getting them treated and nursing them we will free him from disease. But when at last they find neither water nor the oar they become dejected. Then they see a ray of hope in the form of God’s grace during that despair. Even if the patient dies it brings an awakening in some. And if he recovers one becomes more firm in faith - one begins to believe that God has something better - from a motivated worshiper he gradually becomes a motiveless worshiper.

"Thakur used to say, ‘How ignorant are these physicians! They say they will cure the patient and they forget Him who is the master.’ One needs both effort and faith in God. Effort alone does not bring peace to the mind.

"Those who have more of animal feelings within, those who have greater desire for sensory enjoyments, initially go away from God when there is a catastrophe. But they have to return in the end.

"The Gita calls the manifestation of animal nature as asura. The Lord says, ‘I throw them down in the asuric wombs for many lives’. Is this the result of His violent nature? No, it’s not so. What does He do? With some rules He runs the world. The Asuras do not accept them. So He punishes them. Does the Mother have any enmity for the children? Outwardly she may beat a child. Like a mother keeps a watch on her naughty children till they return home, similarly the God remains with the jiva till he is able to free himself from his nature. Whether, good or bad, a son remains a son for the mother’s affection. So long as the son of the family does not return to the family, God keeps him company.

"Whenever I was in trouble he (Thakur) would point towards the boys and say, ‘It is for their education that all this is happening to you.’ The world is a cauldron of fire. There is only sorrow here; there is not an iota of happiness, the real happiness. If a new trouble arises, it will be now for the benefit of them (pointing towards Jagabandhu and others). Through this He will awaken the consciousness of those who are in the household.

"Why is there pain and sorrow in this world? The answer is that if it was not there nobody will think of God. It is pain and sorrow which takes the human mind to majestic heights.

"They who remain steady during the trials and tribulations are ideal men, for example, Lord Krishna, Sri Ramakrishna. This is one side of the picture. On the other side you have the animal man - the least disturbance upsets him. In between there are human men. The animal man will become god-man - this is the great message of the Indian civilization.

"Trials of life are like a touchstone to bring out the purity of one’s mind. That is why Kunti Devi asked God for troubles."

Morton School Calcutta.

Friday, 8th of August 1924.

23rd of Shravana, 1331 (B.Y.), 31 danda/6 palas.