1.

M. (to the Younger Jiten) – He (Jagabandhu) has writtenwrote a letter to you only today. We were greatly worried since there was no news from you. I hope everything is fine there?

The Younger Jiten – Yes sir, it is all fine now. It has been a great shock.

The Elder Jiten (entering and offering his pranam) – What are you all talking of?

M. – We are just talking of His leela. We are all instruments in His hands. That’s why, Thakur used to say, ‘Everything in under Him.’ Even japa, meditation and tapasya are under Him.

M. (to the bhaktas) – Malory and Irvine died on the Everest. So big is the British Government, but it couldn’t save both of them. Nobody could reach there to help them. Just see, how poor is the man’s condition! How many machine guns and what not they have, but they couldn’t save them. This is the capacity of man! And doesn’t this man says that there is nothing as high as the Everest. What a wonder! What does he say? How high is it? Five miles at the most!

"Just cast a glance up there. How high are they (the constellation of stars)? Just look at the sun — how many millions of miles far it is! The stars are still higher. And they say that the Mount Everest is the highest.

"As for expert opinion — and they who are great and expert astronomers they say that — the stars which are visible are each one a sun. They have planets and satellites revolving round them, just like our solar system."

M. (to a certain bhakta) – Thakur used to say, ‘If one dies on his way to Kailash, he won’t be born again.’ Kedar and Badri are also on the way to Kailash. Those who die on this way, they too will not have to be reborn. Malory and Irvine died on the Everest. It is also said to be on the way to Kailash.

M. (to the bhaktas) – Thakur would tell a story. A sadhu seeing a waterfall — so much water falls from there, you see — would daily go and sit close to it from morning till evening in wonder. The sadhu used to say, ‘O! see, what it is doing?’ It is just about a single waterfall! And, what about the phenomenon happening above? The sadhu would sit there saying this the whole day. And he would return to his hut at night to take some fruits and roots.

M. (to Mohan) – One day Thakur said, ‘A small hole was made which got plugged soon — Mahamaya showed me this. I make a little hole with my nail and it again gets plugged. Suddenly, once the whole became a big one. Through it I could see so much on the other side. It was an infinite endless affair.’

"Arjuna seeing a little glimpse of it shuddered all over — he began to tremble. So it happens. How does a man say, ‘I am a jnani, a learned!’ Thakur was wonder-struck on seeing all this.

"(She) doesn’t let anyone see anything on the other side — all that is happening above. She has made men keep a low vision. Struck with wonder he says: Who are you, Mother? You have created this amazing process of birth, disease, bereavement, sorrow, poverty, old age and death. And then affection which has bound men together while living with all this. Hail Mahamaya!

"The Veda has defined Mahamaya — that which makes the real unreal and the unreal real is Mahamaya.

"According to the Veda, She is Devatmashakti svagunanirgudam (Divine Power having Her own inherent qualities). She presents the good as hbad and the bad as good — this is hHer work.

"That’s why, the company of sadhus is always needed. It keeps one in the right dhat (disposition, temperament, habits). Sadhus always try to observe this sport of the Mother, you see. One should remember this and live in family.

"For how long does one remember all such phenomena that is going on day and night before our eyes? Mahamaya makes one forget everything. What a tremendous incident took place in Japan! Five lakh people have been devoured at a single stroke — they have been swept away by the tidal wave. For how long shall we remember it? If we could remember it, the world would not move on. Nobody would then work. Besides, the flood of Etaly and then the accident in Malabar — for how long are they remembered?

"These days they say that the Atlantic Ocean was once a big continent and that a race known as Atlantic inhabited it. Where have they all gone? Why is it all done? This is to awaken people. However, it doesn’t happen.

"During the funeral procession, the Hindus say, ‘Say Hari, say Hari, only the name of Rama is eternal.’ The Muslims say, ‘There is but one God and Mohammed is our prophet.’ What message does it convey? It teaches that all are seated on the verge of destruction. These are but only small destructions. The big destruction has yet to come. And it says, ‘O jiva, your body will perish. But, your the soul is imperishable. Serve this very soul.’

"And thousands of creatures perish, why — who will create them? This makes one understand that all is His will. Every morning I hear from my room the cattle bleating and moving away. And after a while, I see that having been slaughtered they being are carried by the porter on his head.

"During my childhood I used to go to Kalighat. I was then eight or ten. Seeing the he-goats being slaughtered, I thought that I would stop all this when I grow older. I had my ambition then, you see. Now, as I have grown old I can understand, ‘O my mother, everything happens by His will.’ "

M. (to the bhaktas) – If you ask, why this slaughter? Why does He do all this? The answer is — what will it do by living as an animal? If the mind is not towards God, of what use is this life? That is why, the system to sacrifice animals was introduced. Only this comes to the mind. And, there was also a system to sacrifice those among men who were full of animality. It means this that the body is of no use if the mind does not remain towards God.

M. (to the Elder Jiten) – Why so much care for the body which is not going to last? This is Mahamaya’s work. She makes one forget all. That’s why, Thakur said, ‘Mahamaya should be satisfied first.’ Aha! What a beautiful song that friend of ours (Bholanath Muakherjiee) sings —

"When will this body perish is not certain. Why then so much consideration for it? One should think on that which will last — that atman, God."

M (to Jagabandhu) – Jagabandhu Babu! Haven’t they printed the Kathamrita today?

Jagabandhu – Sir, the printing press is close today.

M. – That’s why, you haven’t brought some (proofs).

The Elder Jiten (to M.) – We aren’t able to understand why it is all this.

M. – So long as one has one’s mind in the body one can’t understand it all. Now, how to get rid of this body consciousness? By tapasya (penance). That is why, tapasya is needed. By tapasya, one gets rid of body consciousness. By calling on Him secretly in a solitary corner, He drives away the body consciousness.

"This feeling, affection and so on come from our body consciousness. When one’s son is ill, one says, ‘Oh! how he is suffering!’ It means that he also has the same attitude — suffering at illness and satisfaction at comfort. That is why, he can understand his son’s suffering.

"Even so, the avatara coming as man doesn’t feel the same way. In whatever way God keeps the avatara at any time, the latter has the same feeling. He has no body consciousness."

2.

M. (to the bhaktas) – Doctor Babu has not come. (To Hari Parvat) Do you understand Hari Babu! In my childhood, I saw a Paramahansa who sold halwa (flour pudding). It was where there is now Arya Samaj. He would always wear a smile on his face and sing. He was never sad. That’s why, everybody called him Paramahansa. He had a sweet shop. He used to give extra quantity of halwa. (Laughter). Hari Babu! You too should give an extra bucket. (He deals in buckets). (Everybody laughs loudly). Aha! It was nice to see Thakur’s bhava wherever it was.

M. – Durga Babu, what did Sudhir Maharaj (Swami Shuddhananda) say to you that day?

Durgapada – There’s no important matter discussed these days other than the service at the math. That’s why Sudhir Maharaj said: ‘The Story of the Mother’ is going to be published soon. It contains sadhan, bhajan, tapasya and all these. One will receive a unique new light from it.

M. – Listen today to what he says now. Sudhir Maharaj has said to him (Hari Parvat): , ‘For many a days,, the juniors have been receiving a formal inspiration. They say, ‘Scatter in all sides and carry out tapasya. Give up all other work.’

"Will itthere be not be vairagya! How long will they like it? Father, mother, home and all they have left behind, haven’t they? That’s why, the one that is inside is always burning. After doing work for some days, one must take to tapasya. It keeps the dhat right. Otherwise, it becomes all like a household. After going to a solitary corner, one develops a love for one’s ideal. One may then come back and take to work. In this way, the quality of work also improves. Otherwise, it gets monotonous. Work and tapasya done alternately is good for the organisation.

" ‘Go, son! Leave immediately. You have made the math your home. After leaving one chair, you have taken another. Move out for tapasya.’ Saying this, Rakhal Maharaj sent a person for tapasya from Madras Math.

"An old group goes and a new one takes over. By doing so, work and tapasya both are performed. Tapasya is also a work. And, is it a small work that is done in the math? It is service to Thakur. What a great deal of work is there to do! Besides, there is relief work, dispensary and what not.

"When Thakur was ill, the devotees were dead tired because of hard work for months together. Thakur then said, ‘Listen, please keep a mat and a pillow here. One can lie down when one feels like it.’ Otherwise, they won’t come. See that even in the service of Bhagavan, in the Guru’s service, it is so. That’s why, it is also said in the Bible, ‘Jesus knew what was in man!’ Christ knew the weaknesses of man generated by his body consciousness.

"When athe son or a dear one falls ill so many people come all around the bed in the beginning. O, mother! Aafter the illness lasts a few days, nobody visits the patient. This much about the body! How could it be otherwise? Isn’t there the instinct of self-preservation?. This body can’t do much."

M. (to Hari Babu) – Even so, their (the sadhus of the Math) work is nice — it is altruistic work. But, one can’t say the same thing about the bucket business. What do you say, Hari Babu?

"(To the bhaktas) "He has started trading in buckets. Does the work spare you, just see? Work done with a selfish motive binds one and when it is done selflessly, it helps one to attain Him.

"What is done at the guru’s behest does not bind. Only what one does by one’s own will binds. Such is Mahamaya’s work. She doesn’t let one know which action is selfish and which is selfless. I might be thinking that I am doing selfless work but perhaps there lurks the desire for name and fame within. But the guru knows all. Suppose there is a rope with a thousand knots. Nobody can loosen a single knot. The magician loosens all just by shaking his hands like this. The same with the gGuru. He can loosen all knots of the heart. Thakur with his own hands has loosened all the knots of the bhaktas’ hearts."

M. (to himself) – Anandaddhyeva khalvimani bhutani jayante. Anandena jatani jivanti. Anandam prayantyi abhisamvisantiti (TaittiriyaTaittiriya Upanishad 3:6). (All creatures are born from bliss, after being born they remain alive by bliss and after leaving this world they enter into bliss). What an enigma!

M. (to the bhaktas) – Creation, preservation and destruction — of all beings and creatures, of the whole universe — God does it in joy. Destruction is done in joy — how can a man understand it! Man can understand that creation and preservation are done in joy. That God creates, preserves and annihilates in joy in this world, if anyone can understand it he is free in this very life. Only His grace makes it possible to understand this. God is the very sSelf of bliss. That being so all work done by God is full of bliss. He who knows it is free in his lifetime. That is to say that good and evil, sorrow and pain of the world cannot have any impact or tension on him. Such a man is very rare.

"In this way, night after day, day after night and then weeks, months and years pass by. And that is how the lease ends But, His Mahamaya doesn’t let anyone understand this. And whom She lets understand cannot take to any work of ajnana (ignorance).

"He has covered Himself with a veil — the veil of affection and attachment. Such is the affair! He who understands that God Himself sports becoming all these forms, for him the killed and the killer are the same. He has no fear then. The song goes: Having seen the unique love on Your face, what is there to fear from the sorrows, catastrophes and annihilation of the world."

M. (to the bhaktas) – It is the union and separation of the five elements that bring about the creation, preservation and dissolution. The five elements are the creation of His power of maya. In fact, they are nothing at all. But He presents them to be existing and real. He has kept us in illusion just by these five elements. Even the avatara bound by the five elements ‘gasps’ as he ‘ducks’ in the ‘water’. So Thakur said, ‘Bound by the five elements even the Brahman laments.’

"That’s why, one cannot recognise the avatara. Doesn’t he subject himself to everything — sorrow, and grief, birth, old age and death — just like any other man?. One cannot understand it. On the one hand a man, a complete man. On the other God. And in between maya. How can a man see all these three simultaneously? The ordinary man has only one sight. With that sight he can see the avatara only as a man. This is the reason why he cannot give him regard.

[Fools disregard Me as one clad in human form, not knowing my higher nature as the Great Lord of beings.]

"The spiritually great men live on another plane. Though they have seen God but they cannot all recognise the avatara. That is why, only twelve rishis — Bhardwaj and other rishis — could recognise Rama as the avatara. The other rishis said, ‘Yes, Bhardwaj and others may say that you are an incarnation of God. But we can only take you as a man of great spiritual knowledge, the knower of the atman, a saintly king all perfect in values.’ Just see, the spiritually great, the rishis, could not all recognise him. It was the same with Sri Krishna. Only Deval, Vyasa, Garg and some other rishis recognised Hhim as avatara.

"That’s why, at times Thakur used to say, ‘The achina gachha (the unrecognizsed tree) is of a certain kind. Everybody cannot recognizse it.’ Some bhaktas would gaze at Thakur trying to know what was happening within him. By his grace they could recognise him as avatara. Seeing this Thakur used to say, ‘If the whole mind has concentrated here, what else remains there to achieve?’ This means that one has had seen God — Thakur’s darshan is the vision of God.

"There is a sutra in Patanjal Darshan, ‘Ishwara pranidhanadva’ (samadhi can also be attained by deep concentration on God). You may follow the ashtanga yoga (eight steps to yoga of Patanjal) such as yama, niyama etc. or you may think upon God, meditate on Him. You can see God by both these methods."

M. (to the bhaktas) – The Lord is Kalpataru (the wish yielding tree). Whatever you seek, you find. Even so, there is a difficulty in it. By asking mindlessly, the tiger may devour you. Do you know the story? (Laughing) A traveler was tired after a long walk. Sitting under a tree, he said to himself, ‘I could lie down if there is a bedding here.’ And a bedding was there at once. Then he thought, ‘How nice it would be if there is a woman to stroke my feet.’ And a lady came there in no time. Then as soon as he thought of tasty food, that too was there. You see, the man was resting under Kalpataru. That’s why, whatever he wished for appeared there. He had all comforts to be relaxed. He took a long rest. Suddenly he said, ‘What if a tiger comes?’ And a tiger came and ate them all. Therefore, asking Him also entails a lot of danger. So, Thakur told that one should ask God, ‘You may do whatever is good for me.’ You should pray, ‘O God! grant me the right thinking.’

Hari Parvat – A Muslim fakirfaqir used to stand on the steps near Nakhoda mosque gate at Chitpur Road — silent all the time. He would eat if he was given anything. He would never ask. And he would not try to procure food. He had desire for food. He would take if somebody gave it. I saw him some 24 or 25 years ago. In his last years he could not keep standing. He sat down. People would say that he had the nature of a python.

"I saw another person. He used to live under a tree outside the toilets of the Math. He was a Ramayat sadhu. He would sit repeating, ‘Sita Rama, Sita Rama.’ Baburam Maharaj loved him very much. When he was hungry he would utter, ‘Sita Rama, Sita Rama,’ loudly. Baburam Maharaj would then say, ‘I say, go and give something to the sadhu to eat, he is hungry.’ "

M. – How many vows the sadhus take to attain God! He Himself looks after all when given the whole burden on Him. The Lord has thus clearly said in the Gita, ‘Yoga kshemam vahamiaham’ (9:22). (I provide what they have not and security in what they have). Those who think of Him alone and nothing else, to those He sends people to look after them.

"Subject to the python’s instinct means to be completely dependent on God. One eats only what heone gets, it otherwise one dies. His will prevails in both ways. His grace in both. It is not that His grace is there when He provides and not when He does not. When this awareness comes that it is He who preserves and it is He who kills, and that in both He showers hHis grace, only then comes this python like nature. I am saved if He saves me and I die if He kills me, His grace is there in both."

Hari Parvat – I met yet another sadhu in Liluya. I was then eighteen or nineteen. One day I and Harmohan (Mitra) were crossing Ganga on our way to Salakha. Along with two friends from there, we went to Haridas sadhu’s hut. Harmohan knew that sadhu. Evening was approaching. He himself prepared payas with great zeal and served it to us. And he also offered us bael fruit to eat. The sadhu was very happy seeing of us eating and snatching it from one another. Seeing the moon spreading its numerous rays in the sky, the sadhu said: Listen to a story —

"A few sadhus were passing through a deep forest. It was already dark. They were unable to find the way till at last they reached the bank of a pond. The water was reflecting the moon; it was shimmering. They were so happy seeing it that they even forgot to see the moon. Their mind was absorbed in the reflection. Suddenly, they heard a crow cawing above. Following the sound, they saw the crow and along with it the full moon shinning in the sky. Now they forgot the reflection. They gazed at the moon fascinated. The crow had vanished from their sight."

M. – Aha! it indeed was the guru. The guru became one with the ideal deity. Having joy in the reflection means that the jivatman (the individual soul) is enjoying the world. As soon as the course of jivatman is turned towards Parmatman (God) everything else is forgotten. All becomes God. All becomes one. The yogis have this state. The real moon is Parmatman. Who then cares for the reflection of the moon?

3.

M. – Hari Babu, didn’t you go to the (Belur) Math?

Hari – Sir, I think I’ll go tomorrow. I have not been able to go? And when I go everybody enquires after you. I can’t tell them anything. So, I have come today to get the news.

M. – Good, it’s very good. Please go and tell me about it on your return. At what intervals do you visit?

Hari Parvat – I go after a month or two.

M. – Let it be, it keeps the temperament right.

Hari Parvat – Sudhir Maharaj asked about you the other day and said —

M. – What did he say? Tell me. I want to know.

Hari Parvat – Sudhir Maharaj and others had not embraced sannyasa then. They used to visit you. Once you said to them, ‘The devotee who lives in the family is like a ripe mango of a local variety. But Thakur’s intimate sannyasi disciples are (a special variety) say, the Bancha, the Bombay mango or the Langra mango.’

M. – I see!

Hari Parvat – Perhaps you used to talk so much of sannyasa then. They asked whether you have the same view now.

M. (remains silent for a moment, then recalls) – You could not answer them. After Thakur’s departure it was mostly his householder bhaktas who talked about him. That’s why they visited them. Seeing this I said, ‘All these householder bhaktas you see are like ‘ripe mangoes’. They are all nice to look at but they are of a local variety. But even if you see Thakur’s sannyasi bhaktas as ‘unripe,’ you see that they taste sour on eating, yet they are the Bombay mango, or the Langra mango. When they are fully developed you’ll see a world of difference between the local mango and the Bombay mango.’

"How much time the sannyasis have! Where is the leisure for the family men? If at all they find some time they spend it in an amateur concert party. (To the bhaktas) Don’t you know about the amateur concert parties?

"They spend a day in the concert when they have leisure, the other two days they attend their office. Such is the householders’ religion — like religion within brackets.

"They go to the office well-dressed. And they carry out a little of religion at leisure. What does that avail? Therefore, Thakur said to Vivekananda, ‘Where do the householders find time?’ The householders are part-time men while the sadhus are whole-time men of religion."

M. (to a certain bhakta) – This body will not last. So, why so much activities for it? Why such a noise about it? Why so much of snatching? Why such long lectures? (Laughter). (Pointing to the Elder Jiten) Just keep quiet — shut up! (Laughter).

M. (smiling) – It is good for the householders to take a vow of silence at times. Even this they can’t do. Hari Babu, you saw a sadhu in Kashi who was observing the vow of silence. He was here some timedays back. He had a nice disposition, a smiling face.

Hari – Mokshananda and Khagen Maharaj (Shantananda).

M. – Yes, yes! He narrated a beautiful incident. Seeing him in such a state his mother would herself set an asana (seat) for him after sprinkling the Ganga water, and say, ‘Come here son! Sit here and perform japa-dhyana.’ And she would say, ‘Whenever your mind wavers on seeing girls then remember me. If you remember me, you will not be harmed at all.’

"Aha, what an idea the mother instilled (in the mind)! When suchlike mother passed away, he could not stay back home. The father had already departed. Aha, what a great mantra!

"Aha, how many great men are to be seen with the coming of the avatara. In the oasis in a desert, there is water, shade, trees, creepers, fruits and vegetables. On seeing all this it seems that there are people to enjoy them too. In the same way when an avatara has come, it comes to the mind that there are men to enjoy his wealth also — jnana, bhakti, discrimination, dispassion, peace, happiness, prema, samadhi and mahabhava. All these people have comearrived, they arrivecome and they will come in future.

"When the avatara comes the whole atmosphere is surcharged with spirituality. Then it is very easy. There is pole deep water even on dry land. So many spiritually great are seen today!"

M. (to the Doctor) – What’s that sloka from the Gita — scarcely one calls on Him?

The Doctor –

[Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection. And of those who strive to succeed, scarcely one knows Me in truth.]

M. – There are also people who are eligible for it. The sannyasis are highly eligible. (To a certain bhakta) The problem is this — unauthorized interference. It is for this reason that Sri Krishna scolded Arjuna. He said, ‘Your nature will not be able to bear it (sannyasa), brother!’ He wanted to embrace sannyasa forsaking everything out of attachment and fear. Therefore, Siri Krishna persuaded him in so many ways to fight.

"First, he said, ‘You are a kshatriya. It is your duty to fight. The war for justice is a war for religion.’ Then he said, ‘People will give you all bad name. They will say that Arjuna fled away fearing Bhishma, Drona and Karna.’ The third thing he said that infamy is the same as death. He said, ‘If you conquer this war of religion, you will enjoy the kingdom and attain heaven after death.’

"When Arjuna did not pay heed to any of his advice, he scolded him. Said he, ‘If you don’t hear me, you will perish’ — na shroshyasi vinamkshyasi (Gita 18:58).

"First, he talked to him about sannyasa. When he saw that he was not interested in it he told him about the Karma Yoga. And he scolded in the end. Such is the affair!

"Is it enough to say, ‘I won’t do?’ What there is in your nature, you will have to do. Prakriti tvam niyokshyati (Gita 18:59)."

Morton School, Calcutta

Monday, 1 September, 1924

16th Bhadra, 1331 (B.Y.)

The second day of the bright fortnight

18 Dandas / 39 Palas.