1.

M. (to Antevasi) – Please go today and warn Shukalal Babu. Tell him that he should consult me before lending money to anybody acquainted through this place (M.). Please go to Beliaghata today, please go and give this message.

"Shame! Why must he do it? This money business is such! It estranges one’s own. That’s why, Thakur used to say so much about it. He would not have any monetary dealing with others.

"One should not lend money. If you can, give away five rupees in charity. Lending involves taking back. Oh, what a confusion it creates — you may have to go to law for getting it back.

"Just see, how much trouble a man undergoes to earn money. He has to turn the blood of his body into water. It is that money.

"Besides, one should not go in for debt for other person. This breaks friendship, it disturbs the mind.

"So Thakur used to say, ‘There is no pela here.’ Pela means a fee to witness something. And he said another time, ‘Do you know why I don’t talk to such and such person? He will not work. Instead he will stay here. I feel like saying it to somebody. So I don’t talk to him.’

"The mind of everybody in not prepared. Those who have no insight act in this manner. How to prepare their mind for it they do not know. When the mind is ready one gives up all of one’s own accord — when one knows that all is illusion, one gives up everything.

"So long as one has body-consciousness one has to think of how to live well, how to make the body comfortable; till then there is the need for money.

"When the mind is ready one gives up money of one’s own accord, one willingly gives away. Before this, he will not give even when asked — he will not give even if the Guru asks him.

"Viren Babu would not go there too often. He used to say, ‘As soon as I go to him he would tell me that such and such good work is being done and that I should donate five hundred rupees.’ This was the reason why he didn’t go."

M. (to Antevasi) – Two sadhus came here bringing a devotee from Bombay. He was a big merchant. Somebody said to me, ‘Please tell him how to spend his money.’ (Laughter). I said, ‘Certainly, I shall tell him.’ I said to him, ‘Thakur did not tread this path at all.’ How stupid! Asking me to tell him how to spend money!

"Let him come here as often as he can. When he develops devotion for the Lord he will do it himself. He will then understand that God alone is the Master of this money. Till then how will he listen to you? He will perhaps say, ‘He has such a big business, yet he brings me with him and asks me to spend in the service of the sadhus.’ (Laughter).

"Thakur once said to Mathur Babu, ‘If you have no money, sell your estate and give in charity.’ Having said so he at once said, ‘Mother, why do you make me say such things?’ "

A Particular Devotee – A sadhu asked me to go to such and such person, and tell him to donate his house in the service of the Deity, in the service of sadhus. I went and told him so, but he did not give it away.

M. – Why will they not say so? They have no insight. If one has the insight one does not say so. How much trouble one undergoes to earn money, you see! One has to perspire from head to foot. Will one give away money at your asking?

"First of all give your love and prepare his mind. Let him develop devotion to God. Then he will know that all is transitory. He will discriminate between the eternal and the transitory. He himself will then give away. May be that if your ask him earlier, he may stop visiting you. That’s why, Thakur never asked anybody to give in charity. He used to say that nobody would come if asked to give. He said to the Mother, ‘Mother, how fond they are of money! Let it remain with them. Grant that I may have shuddha bhakti (pure devotion) at Thy Lotus Feet.’ "

M. (to a Bbrahmachari) – One should not accept money even when requested. When one does so one has to bear the burden of obligation. That is why, sadhus live on alms. This does not involve any obligation. If you like you may give, otherwise you may not. Even so, one should accept only a piece of bread, or a handful of rice, or just a pice.

M. (to Antevasi) – Please go, do go yourself today and tell him. Warn him. You will tell him: Let him do what he considers right with his acquaintances. But he should not do give anything to those whom he knows through this place, without asking me. Just think, as soon as mention of this place is made he will at once give him. Fie,! taking such advantage!

Antevasi – May be when mention of this place is made, he would himself borrow, even steal, to be able to give.

M. – He was giving twenty-five rupees a month to a sadhu. The sadhu lives in Kashi. What an effort is being made to stop it. Besides, the bigger a man the more his expenses. One has to guard all sides! And then there are various other expenses.

M. (to Antevasi) – Please copy the text infrom the Kathamrita where Thakur has talked of the importancegreatness of Swamiji (V.N.), and also copy some of the speeches of Swamiji. Then you may give them all to the Basumati. Many sadhus of the Math want me to write something on Swamiji. Miss MacLeodMcLeod has sent me a similar message.

Antevasi – Miss MacLeodMcLeod also asked me to say this to you. She said, ‘Mr. M.N. (Mahendera Nath) paints a living pen picture. Please convey to him that I sincerely request him to write something about Swamiji.’ Many old and new sadhus have also said the same.

M. – Yes, but it is only possible if the Mother gives the power to do so. Without Her grace, bhakti and jnana do not get fully expressed while writing. Giving a narration of incidents or writing a commentary does not make a significant impact. At the most, one’s ideas may be clear but it does not touch the heart. And it does not help to develop the character. The writing should be such that it pulls the reader’s mind towards God and ties it to theHis lotus feet of God. The reader would know that the highest ideal of human life is to see God. Thus his highest duty is to first fix the mind on God and then to render any service, may he be a sadhu or a worldly man. The outward renunciation helps the sadhus to advance a good deal but if one forgets the ideal one is not able to ‘melt gold’ in this life. And he who is in the household has trouble at every step. Maya and affection move about night and day ready to caste their nets on him. He can be saved a little if he has gained bhakti by the grace of the Mother of the Universe he has gained bhakti.

"Instructing anybody or writing something entails a lot of responsibility. Many times it ends in unintended catastrophe. In the words of Thakur, ‘The patient was sitting up, the doctor came and made him lie down.’ This can happen or one may say such a stupid thing as ‘there is a cowshed full of horses in the house of my maternal uncle’.’ Well, please copy all that."

"Kunti Devi says: Krishna, you are the first Purusha, you inhere completely the inside and outside of all matter. But, you are hidden behind curtain of maya. So, no one can recognise you."

M. (to the devotees) – None can recognise the avatara. Only whom He lets can recognise Him. Oh, what a grace on Kunti Devi! That is why, she is worthy mustof being remembered every morning. What a great devotion must one have within to have the good fortune of recognising the avatara! Rending the hard veil of affection, ‘Krishna is my brother’s son,’ breaking away the social conduct, ‘I am his respected aunt,’ she recognised Krishna as the full manifestation of Brahman.

"We could not have understood this mystery if we had not witnessed Thakur’s leela. By showering his grace on us Thakur has shown us his real Self. That’s why, we can understand Krishna leela. He would daze bhaktas by showing them his real Self. Which is right, this or that, such was the confusion we were in. Krishna at least had external splendour. Since his childhood, he had performed so many supernatural deeds. What a splendour of yoga he manifested then, in the battle of Kurukshetra. Besides, this hymn of Kunti Devi was also sung immediately after he had manifested this splendour of his. Ashvathama had used the Brahma-astra to kill the Pandavas at the time when Sri Krishna was going to Dwarika. Sri Krishna saved them with his divine powers from sure death by destroying the power of the Brahma-astra.

"On the other hand, Thakur’s leela, from the beginning to the end, is a hard surrounding shield of maya. He was almost illiterate, poor, a priest on seven rupees a month, his family members were no better — none of them earned more than ten rupees a month. Add to it, people talked of him as a mad person. Sometimes he would walk naked; sometimes he carried a pole on his shoulder, tying a tail made of cloth to his back, and took big strides.

"The Indivisible Sachchidananda who is beyond word and mind, lives with such a veil and conducts Himself thus. Showing himself in this way at times, Thakur would confound his devotees. In the beginning he would ask somebody (M.), ‘What can you see in me? Have you heard of an ‘unrecognizsed’ tree? There is a field extending limitlessly with a wall in it. This wall has a hole.’ He then asked somebody, ‘Let me see if you can tell, what is this (hole)?’ The devotee answered, ‘This is none but you. One can see God within you.’ He was happy at this answer and said, ‘Yes, you can see to the extent of two to three kosas (a kosa is equal to two miles) — very far away.’

"If there is the veil of ignorance, it is not possible for anybody to recognise the avatara.

"Krishna made Draupadi recognise his real Self at times. That’s why, she would run to Krishna whenever she found herself in trouble. Oh, what a grace that such a thing should be possible! To attain the power to hold Him whom the greatest of yogis cannot holdcatch. What a bhakti Draupadi had! Whenever there were tears in her eyes Krishna would immediately come before her. She introduced him to Uttara. ‘Save, save O supreme yogi’ — saying so she sought shelter under Sri Krishna. This was when the Brahma-astra of Ashvathama was sought to kill (the male fetus of Prikshit) in Uttara’s womb. Generally it is not possible for the members of the avatara’s family to recognise him but Sri Krishna had introduced himself to everyone of them. Otherwise, this leela could not have been enacted fully. Saving the Pandavas from catastrophes, restoring to them their throne — if one sees just this, it does not constitute the whole of His leela. That will lead to greater egotism. So the Lord shows His real Self to some at times. It helps them not to fall a prey to pride even while living in all splendour.

"Thakur’s father knew that Thakur was an avatara, Raguvira in a human body. Totapuri also recognised him as also the Brahmani. Thakur’s sister (i.e. Hridya’s mother) also knew him. So, she had worshipped him. In the state of bhava Thakur told her that she would die in Kashi and this is what happened.

"Some of his contemporaries were able to recognise him by his grace. K. worshipped the feet of Thakur with flowers and sandal paste in the shrine on the first floor. Thakur told Vijay Goswami about it. I was also there.

"One of his antaranga (devotee of the inner circle)antarangas (M.) was able to recognise him on his very first visit. Thakur asked somebody (M.) what he thought of him, whether he saw in him anything more than an ordinary man. The devotee said, ‘God has sculpted you with His own hand. The others He puts in the machine (of the fruit of their actions).’

"Girish Babu also said during his very first visit, ‘You are Brahman in full.’ Thakur accepted it. So he asked Narendra, ‘What is your reaction to what Girish says (that I am an avatara)?’

"It is very difficult to recognise an avatara. Even rishis could not recognise Rama and Krishna, except a very few."

"Having offered an extraordinary prayer Kunti Devi sat down.

"Kunti (to Sri Krishna) – O the world teacher, grant that I may always have such catastrophes that bring me your darshan and completely erase the sorrows of life — such trials may I have always have."

M. – One has to renounce both adversities and riches. Only then one sees God. Reason, the ideal man is a ‘man of steady wisdom’ who is not perturbed by adversity and does not hanker after happiness. The happiness of the world and adversity are both joined to each other. Parivartante chkravat sukhani che dukhani che — sorrow and happiness move in cycle. Today there is happiness, tomorrow sorrow. Yesterday one had sorrow, today happiness. This is the rule of the world. There is an everlasting joy above it. That is the joy of Brahman. In samadhi one is not aware of happiness and sorrow. The mind remains absorbed in everlasting, limitless joy. The minds of both the knower of the Essence and of those who are ignorant of It are subject to happiness and sorrow when their minds come down. Even the great Ashvasttha tree shakes in strong wind and tempest. But the mind of knower of the Essence returns quickly to its tranquil state. Happiness also makes ones forget God. The Pandavas remembered God in sorrow during their great trials. The reason is that they had gone into exile for the sake of dharmareligion, for the sake of truth. Religion and truth are the four walls of the temple of God. That is why, Kunti Devi asked for the sorrow that may keep her mind in God. In such a state one has His darshan. This darshan rids one of extreme sorrow. In other words, one is freed from birth and death.

"God gives only as much sorrow to the devotee as he can bear. It serves two purposes. It destroys one’s pride. Soon after, it takes the mind immediately up to majestic heights. Secondly, it serves as a lesson. The whole of India has been saved till today because of the lesson it learnt from the sorrows of the Pandavas. This alone is the teaching of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

"Thakur’s devotees also experienced sorrow and grief. Swami Vivekananda was taken by the trials of his mother and brothers — even when he was so great a receptacle. For a time he had almost lost his faith in God. He was unable to rid himself of grief with his own strength. So, he took shelter under Thakur. He said, ‘Please tell the Mother of the Universe to arrange for food and clothes for them.’

"So it was that Kunti Devi prayed, ‘Let me have the grief with which You remain with me.’ "

"Kunti Devi is confused.

"Kunti – O Lord, when you appear in a body, you follow its generic nature so well that even the knower of the Essence falls into the great error of thinking of you as one subject to the laws of karmas."

M. – Oh, how true! Since He has taken a human body He behaves exactly as a man. He is fully a human being and fully the incarnation of God. Aha, I had lived with Thakur, so it is possible for me to understand the scriptures in these matters. Chaitanya Deva’s devotees said, ‘Brother, we have been able to understand the bhava (disposition) of Gaur having lived with him.’ I was with Thakur, for this reason I can fully confirm this fact. Sorrow, affliction, grief, desire, anger, greed etc. were all like those of a human being. One percent of all these, this human nature and ninety-nine percent a divine disposition. Mahimacharan was under this error.

"Kunti – O Krishna, knowing that man will hear and remember your leela (divine play), when he is down and out with worldly trials, and thereby rid himself of it, you have taken birth."

M. – This too we have understood by keeping his company. This is an easy way. Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga are difficult disciplines. In the leelaformer we love him, feed him, put him to bed, accept both respect and pride like any human being. The gopis rid themselves of all grief and pain by only loving him in this human attitude. Thakur said to a devotee (M.), ‘If your whole mind is here, what else remains to be done?’ In other words, the mind is tied to Sri Ramakrishna. This devotee would just keep gazing at Thakur. It was then that he said so.

"Kunti wants to get freed from the bonds of affection.

"Kunti – O the Lord of the world! iIf you go away from here the Pandavas may suffer and if you live here the race of the Yadus may come to harm. Please cut asunder my affection for these two races. And please grant that my attention may remain fixed at your feet, freeing itself from all other worldly matters."

M. – The mind becomes restless in whichever worldly matter you fix it. On the other hand, so long as there is mind it cannot but rest in something or the other. God has created the world making the mind outgoing. This knowledge of Kunti Devi is now confirmed. How much of battle, conflict, misfortune, exile, grief and pain she underwent. So she only sought shelter at the feet of the Lord — the only place to attain peace. She had developed sannyasa within. The real sannyasa consists in renouncing one’s desires.

"Thus Thakur taught the devotees in their early age: You will live in the world like a maid-servant in a rich man’s house. You will outwardly show love, attend to all duties but inwardly you will know, ‘None of my relatives belong to me and nor do I belong to them. Only the Lord is their and my eternal friend.’

"Just see, He was there before our birth, no relative was there then — father, mother, wife, children, none. After death none of these will accompany us. Only the Lord keeps company before birth and after death till the son has returned home. If that be true why does man forget this after birth? This is the work of His maya. It makes one forget the reality and draws the mind to fix itself in the unreal (the world) — this is what maya does. So, he taught the devotees to pray: ‘Mother, don’t bewitch me in Your world-enchanting maya.’ "

"Krishna is ready to set out for Dwarika. He somehow consoles Kunti but the mind of Yudhishtra is overwhelmed by grief and affection — the grief of so many of his dying in battle. Says he: I will not be able to redeem myself of this sin even if I perform three Ashvamedha yajnas. No religious performance can rid one from that sin while one lives in the household."

M. – Thakur said, ‘One can make up the extra expense of mind in the world only by embracing sannyasa.’ Yudhishtra had developed sannyasa within. Vyasa and other rishis, Bhishma Pitamah tried to make him understand in so many ways but his mind still had no peace. Then he was in the household deriving consolation from Sri Krishna’s words. He was in reality like a sannyasi then. Making Prikshit the king he instructed him for sometime on state affairs. The rest of his time he spent in thinking upon God with dispassion in his mind. He ate little, kept long hair and so on. His food was ordinary, his dress scanty; he engaged himself in thinking onf God the whole daylong. As soon as, he received the news of Krishna’s passing away, he took to the great go. Thakur’s devotees also lived in the household in the same state of mind at his behest.

M. – Play will be enacted throughout tonight in the Star Theatre. You people must also go there. Sukhendu, Manoranjan and Balai have already left. You must see all this — it creates a great impression on the mind. When I was strong in body I generally went to witness them. Jagabandhu, the Doctor and Amulya sawee six plays keeping awake throughout the night — Janamashtmi (the birthday of Sri Krishna), Nandotsava (the festival of Nanda), Nanda-vidai (Sri Krishna taking leave of Nanda), Sudama, the test of Arjuna and Jaideva. The plays endIt ended at half past five in the morning.

Morton School, Calcutta

Friday, 22nd August 1924

6th day of Bhadra, 1331 (B.Y.)

Janamashtmi, 56 Dandas /, 56 Palas.