1.

M. (to the devotees) ­ There was absolutely no such thing during the life time of Thakur. No flood-relief, no famine-relief, nothing of the kind. There was just this, how to attain God.

"When the avatara has departed, they fly at a tangent.

"He used to say, ‘Doesn’t the Mother know that the devotees need these?’

"Christ said: God knows well what things you need. You just call upon Him.

"…your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, ... But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Mathew 6:8, 33)

"He knows all. Just see, He sends the sun and the moon. And then, He has also created water. I was just thinking of it today ­ Oh, had there been no water, the whole atmosphere would be smelling awfully. And then, the air, when it stops even for an hour the eyes becomes stony. He knows all what you want. How to attain Him, this should be your only effort.

"…your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, ... But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Mathew 6:8, 33)

"By saying that you need this and you need that, there is just no end to need.

"He has various departments: politics, social reforms and so many others."

A Certain Bhakta ­ Gita praises the yoga of work:

[The renunciation of work and its unselfish performance both lead to the Soul’s salvation. But of the two, the unselfish performance of work is better than its renunciation (Gita 5:2)]

M. ­ Yes, it is because of different capacities of the sadhaka that it is said that the renunciation of work and its unselfish performance both lead to God-realisation. Arjuna was fit for Karma Yoga (yoga through work). So, He praises it for his benefit.

"Jnana (the path of spiritual insight), Yoga (i.e. Raja Yoga), Bhakti (the path of devotion) and Karma (path of unselfish work) ­ these four only are the paths. Let him adopt one of these for attaining God, who has preference for it.

"He says, ‘Uddhava, give up every thing and embrace sannyasa. Go to Badrinarayana and practice tapasya.’ "

"Thakur used to say, ‘The mother arranges for the food which suits a particular stomach.’

"The Gita says, ‘jnanayogena sankhyanam karmayogena yogeenam [The path of knowledge for the men of contemplation and that of work for men of action. (Gita 3:3)]’

"And there are other exhortations (1) mayyeva mana aadhatsva [fix the mind in Me alone.] (2) abhyasayogen tato mamichhaptum [Seek to attain Me by the yoga of practice] (3) matkarmaparamo bhava [Work for My sake.] (4) sarvakarmafalatyagam tatah kuru [Renounce all fruit of the work you do].

"He has given four alternatives. Any one of them will do. The basic thing is the difference of natures. One should take up that which suits one. But, it will have to be done with extreme earnestness.

"Though, Thakur has neither rejected the jnani nor the man of yoga nor the bhakta nor the man of work, yet, he said that for this age the path of devotion is the easiest. Life depends on food, it is not long, and the mind is restless. In this age, one succeeds by surrendering everything to Him and crying for Him. That is why he said so. And he himself took to this path."

M. (to all present) ­ Yesterday, I went to the Lilly Cottage. Thakur used to go there frequently. He was very fond of Keshab Babu. He said to him, ‘The moment I remember you, I feel so different in my head,’ that is to say that I feel so inspired with God. Yesterday, his birth anniversary was being celebrated and there was kathkata. Thakur said, ‘I salute the ancient Brahmajnanis (men who realised God) and I salute the Brahmajnanis of today.’ That is to say, he accepted all.

"Among the performers, some were very good. They generated a lot of inspiration. On the other hand, some colour it too much. This covers the basic thing, the real life. No doubt, Keshab Babu’s life was so bright, so great. Had it not been so, would Thakur had loved him so much? When he was lying ill, Thakur worshipped Siddheshwari with sugar and coconut. Rising early he would cry. And he said to the Mother, ‘Mother, if something happens to Keshab, with whom shall I talk about You?’

"The Nava Vidhan has taken the words ‘Mother, Mother’ from Thakur. Max Müller has pointed this out by asking wherefrom had this ‘Mother, Mother’ come suddenly. When he came to know of Keshab’s closeness to Thakur, he said, ‘This (Mother, Mother) had come from Thakur.’

"Thakur went to see Keshab Babu during his last illness. He cried when he died, wrapping a sheet over his face and head for three days. He said, ‘Mother, why did you tie me with him in this way with bhakti?’ When Adhar Sen died, his conduct was the same. For three days, he kept to bed and said weeping, ‘Why have you tied me with bhakti?’ Had it not been so, avatara’s lila would not have been enacted. He enacts his lila with his devotees of the inner and the outer circle."

Jagabandhu ­ I noticed yesterday in the Lilly Cottage that they had the idols of Ganesha, Durga and Lakshmi ­ all these gods and goddesses.

M. ­ Surely, they are all going to ‘turn red’ (take the colour of Thakur’s way of worship).

2

M. (to Swami Kamaleshwarananda) ­ I kept his company for five years, but did not hear him talking of anything else even once. Now I hear so much.

"He would always say: First try to have His darshan somehow. After it, you may do what you like ­ just straight to the point."

M. (to all present) ­ The hero who says that I see nothing but the eye of the fish can only shoot the target. Drona asked a person what he was seeing. The latter replied, ‘The rajas, the trees and you.’ Drona said, ‘No, you will not able to do it.’ And then, he asked another person what he was seeing. He replied, ‘The fish, the rajas and you.’ He said ‘No, you will not be able to do it.’ When he asked Arjuna what he was seeing, he replied, ‘Only the eye of the fish.’ Then Drona said, ‘Yes, you will be able to do it.’

"He was testing who would be able to hit the target. Below, there was water in a container, above in the open, the fish. By seeing the reflection of the eye of the fish in the water, the right eye of the fish was to be hit, Arjuna only saw the right eye of the fish. That is how he was able to hit the target.

"Similarly, another target ­ how to attain Him, just this is what Thakur would say."

A devotee (to himself) ­ M. is also taking the devotees by the way of diameter, by way of Thakur’s new prescription.

M. (to the sadhu) ­ ‘Your Madhava is not in the temple, O Poddo (Padmalochan), why have you brought this chaos by blowing on your conch-shell?’ There was a temple in ruins. One evening, hearing the sound of the conch-shell suddenly, every one ran to it. The door was bolted from inside. One of the men saw through the chink of the door that there was no idol inside and that Poddo was blowing on his conch-shell. Then the above was said, ‘Your Madhava is not in your temple, O Poddo. You have brought this chaos by blowing on your conch-shell.’

"So, first install Madhava in your heart and then take to everything else."

M. (to the young man) ­ Thakur used to say sometime the achina gachha (unknown tree) is of a particular kind. Have you heard about it? Nobody can recognise him, the avatara. So the Gita says:

[The deluded despise Me clad in human body, not knowing My higher nature (divinity) as Lord of all existence. (Gita 9:11)]

"If He does let Himself be caught, nobody can do so."

M. (to Nagen) ­ One day, the devotees were discussing how best to form the characters of the boys. Thakur heard them and scolded them.

"One day Braj Mohan Babu, Ashwini Datt’s father was sitting in Thakur’s room talking at random. Thakur could not bear it. He immediately went into samadhi. After sometime, coming out of it, he said folding his hands, ‘Baba, don’t talk of these things. I cannot bear them. Please talk here only of God.’ Braj Babu then asked for his pardon and said, ‘Master, now you know what is our disease. Please give us its medicine.’ "

"A college has been named in Barishal after Braj Babu. He was a judge and had only just retired.

"It was not possible to talk of anything else there. Only, how to attain God was the subject of all conversations there ­ talk of God all the twenty-four hours ­ sometime singing His name and praises, sometimes bhajan and community singing and at other times reading from the holy books. When he was in lower state, he used to live with all this, otherwise, always absorbed in samadhi. Nothing else could be done. And if anything else happened, he would writhe like a fish out of water."

M. (to Swami Kamaleshwarananda) ­ When the avatara comes and tells people, only then they get an awakening. Only when He orders, one preaches to humanity. Otherwise, who listens? It enters from one ear and goes out the other. Even if one listens, one cannot take it up, cannot hold on to it, that is to say, he cannot frame his life according to it.

"When one has received orders, one is heard by all. When Christ spoke, the learned doctors were wonder-struck ­ doctors, that is to say the teachers of religion. They would be wonder-stuck and say, ‘Wherefrom has this child taken all this? He is illiterate but he teaches them as one that has authority.’ "

Nagen ­ Then, why did Swamiji (Vivekananda) ask us to work?

M. ­ Did Swamiji only talk of work? He also talked of Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. He has talked about them all. One takes that which one can digest. He, who is inclined to work, should take to it. Thakur gave this basic injunction: Do that by which you can attain God.

"The work indicated by the guru when done selflessly purifies the mind. And he manifests himself in a pure mind.

"In the extended sense, Jnana, Yoga, Bhakti and Karma are all works. They have all to be performed selflessly. The Gita says ‘sahaja karma kaunteya sadoshamapi na tyajet’ [One should not give up the work in one’s nature even though attended by evil, O son of Kunti... (Gita 18:48)]. Sahaja karma that is to say work in one’s nature ­ One should do the work that is natural to him.

"And there is another ­ ordained work. This is done after God-realisation for teaching humanity, for example Swamiji’s work. On being asked by Thakur, Swamiji said, ‘I wish to remain absorbed in Samadhi like Sukadeva.’ This was his own nature but as desired by Thakur, he did all other work for teaching humanity."

3.

M. ­ There is personal work and there is work for others, work for many in society. Those who are world teachers have to do both. But, one must first firmly determine one’s own path by personal work before taking work for others. Otherwise, one will not succeed in either.

"All the devotees of Thakur, by His grace, first established themselves well in their own personal ways before adopting welfare work or imparting instructions to others.

"Thakur forbade Swamiji to talk of Advaita (Monism) to Rakhal (Swami Brahmananda). He said that Swamiji’s place is of the Indivisible One. When Swamiji changed the ideas of Kali Maharaj, Thakur said on hearing it, ‘What have you done?’

"Work, every man must do. Na hi kashchit kshanamapi jatu tishthatyakarmakrit [No one can remain without doing work even for a moment. (Gita 3:5)] Man cannot remain without work. And then He says: niyatam kuru karma tvam [Do your obligatory work (Gita 3:8)]. Here, He talks of work in the larger sense. In the personal sense, He says just this: sahajam karma kaunteya sadoshamapi na tyajet [One should not give up the work in one’s nature even though attended by evil, O son of Kunti... (Gita 18:48)]

"The guru instructs the disciple according to the latter’s nature. To one he says ‘Take to meditation, repetition of His name,’ to another he says, ‘Render service to me’; to one he says, ‘Go about the places of pilgrimage,’ to another he says, ‘Go home and do your duty as a house-holder.’ If it is done in a selfless manner, it will bring good to all. By working with a personal motive, one falls into the bonds of work.

"Thakur teachings are principally for two classes: the all renouncing ones, that is to say yogis, sannyasis and bhogi-yogis, that is to say house-holder bhaktas. The goal of both classes of these men is God-realisation. One class marches direct towards its ideal, the other goes on a little roundabout ways. But the latter class of persons is always asked to keep company of the former. For otherwise, there is a possibility of their going astray."

Nagen ­ By nature, I want Bhakti Yoga. But the guru asks me to take to Karma Yoga. Which shall I take up?

M. ­ One must obey one’s guru. Later on, you can convey to him your wish, humbly joining your palms. When you are earnest, He will take you on to the path suited to your nature. The guru is always anxious for the good of the disciple and takes him on to the path suiting his nature. Even so, occasionally, for sometime he may ask you to take to the other path, keeping some object in view. He who takes refuge in his guru comes out alright.

M. (to all present) ­ Thakur wanted just this: make an effort that you may attain Him. So you should always pray to Him to take you on the path by which you can attain God. He wants you to have deep longing ­ I want Him in this very life. He used to say, ‘The father gives the son’s share to him, when he sees that the boy is insistent ­ when he gives up eating and pleasures.’

"And there is another way: aneka janmasansiddhastato yati param gatim (Having perfected himself through many lives, he attains to the highest goal.) Thakur did not like this path.

"When you ask with a deep longing, He gives it. When you are like mad for it, He lets you take it. By weeping secretly in a solitary corner, He lets you have His darshan. It is like the child crying for his mother. All these are Thakur’s words.

"Christ also said the same: Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you (Mathew 7:7)."

M. (to all present) ­ He said in Cossipore, ‘If I had some more days, some more individuals would have attained consciousness, but Mother is not going to keep me long ­ She is taking me away. I talk all about Her to everybody. So She is taking me away.’

The Elder Amulya ­ From this, it appears that he had much more to say. It would have been good had be done it.

M. (laughing) ­ Can your wish prevail? The moon, the sun you see, water, air, the whole universe, all these have come about by His will and they move by His will. The Veda says: sa aikshat bahu syam prajayeya [He wished that He should become many]. He has become all these. Does He consult anybody?

A Particular Bhakta ­ Why does He will that one should remain ignorant?

M. ­ He has two departments, one of knowledge and the other ignorance. It is due to his Maya of ignorance. If everybody were to attain consciousness, how would this world move?

M. ­ Such are Her songs. It has been said about Her that She does good as well as bad.

"Christianity also has the same idea. Christ prays, ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Mathew 6:13).’

"Apparently, He also gives temptations.

"So, Thakur would always pray, ‘Do not bewitch me by your world-bewitching Maya, O, Mother!’

"The Gita also says: daivi hyaisha gunamayi mama maya duratyaya. [This divine maya of Mine consisting of Gunas is hard to overcome (Gita 7:14)]. Therefore the prayer: Don’t delude me, pray.

"And yet, if there is no delusion, this game cannot continue. Thakur used to say, ‘Just as the mother keeps the children happy with toys so that she can attend to her household work, similarly the Mother of the universe keeps us busy in our delusion. Otherwise, the world would stop. He who has had enough of this game calls upon the Mother crying and She lifts him in Her arms. Then Her play is over.

"If you do not want to remain deluded, pray, ‘Mother, don’t bewitch me by Your world-enchanting Maya.’ All happens by Her will."

Morton School, Calcutta,

Sunday, 23rd November, 1924,

8th of Agrahayana, 1331 (B.Y.),

The 11th day of the dark fortnight,

57 Dandas/3 Palas.