Section XVIII
Sri Ramakrishna with Narendra, Doctor Sarkar, Girish Ghosh
and other Bhaktas
Conversation and joy
Chapter One
In samadhi during the joy of devotional music
Next day, half past five, Tuesday, 27 October, 1885. Narendra, Doctor Sarkar, Shyam Basu, Girish,
Doctor Dacouri, the Younger Narendra, Rakhal, M. and others have come
today. The Doctor feels Sri
Ramakrishna’s pulse and prescribes the medicine.
Thakur talks about his pain and takes the medicine. After that the Doctor says, “Now you may
talk to Shyam Babu while I leave.”
Sri Ramakrishna and another bhakta suddenly speak up, “Would
you like to hear some song?”
The Doctor — You become emotional so easily you have to control
your bhava.
The Doctor sits down again.
Narendra begins to sing in a sweet voice. Side by side tanapura
(a stringed musical instrument) and mridanga
(drum) are being played upon beautifully.
He sings
Song 1
Wonderful and infinite is the world created by You. This universe
of Yours is the storehouse of beauty.
Thousands of stars shine like a gold necklace of gems. Innumerable
are the moons and suns.
The earth is adorned with wealth and corn, full indeed is your
storehouse.
O the Great Lord, innumerable people sing this song ceaselessly
saying, ‘Hail, hail.’
Song 2
O my Mother! Thy formless beauty shines in dense darkness. So the
yogi meditates in the mountain cave.
In deep infinite darkness, on the waves of maha-nirvana float incessantly eternal peace and joy.
Assuming the form of Mahakala drapped in darkness O Mother, who
art Thou seated alone in samadhi?
At the lotus of Thy protecting feet flashes the lightning of love
intense. And boisterous laughter adorns Thy face divine.
The Doctor says to M., “It is dangerous for him. It is not right to sing this song. If he goes into bhava, it can be dangerous
for him.”
Sri Ramakrishna asks M. what the Doctor is saying. M. replies, “The Doctor is afraid lest you
should go into bhava samadhi later on.”
While he says so, Sri Ramakrishna goes a little into bhava. Seeing towards the Doctor and folding his
hands says he, “No, no. Why should I go into bhava?” However, while saying so he goes into bhava samadhi his body
still, eyes fixed, no speech. He looks
like a wooden statue, unaware of the external world. His mind, intellect, ego and consciousness all looking inward. He
is no longer the same person. Narendra
continues singing the sweet song with his melodious throat
What an enchanting beauty, what a charming face I see!
The Lord of my soul has entered my humble hut. The spring of my
love is welling forth.
O, the beloved Lord of my heart, say what treasure shall I offer
You?
O, accept my soul, my life; what more can I say? Accept whatever
I have, accept everything from me.
Song
O gracious Lord, what happiness can there be in life if the bee
of the soul is not lost in Your lotus feet forever?
What can I gain from wealth limitless if I don’t try to find the
supreme gem?
I don’t wish to look at the tender face of the child if I can’t
find a glimpse of Your moonlike loving face.
Moonlight has no meaning for me. I see it complete dark if I
don’t see Your loving moonlike face in that moonlight.
Even the pure love of the chaste wife is stained if the gold of
her love is not set with the peerless gem of Your love.
O Lord! Doubt bites me continuously like the deadly poisonous
snake diluting my love for You.
O Lord, what more can I say to You? You are the precious jewel
and gem of my heart, the abode of joy.
Hearing this piece of song, ‘The pure love of the chaste
wife,’ the Doctor exclaims with tearful eyes “Aha! Aha!”
Narendra sings another song —
Oh, how long will it take to be mad with that ecstatic love, when
wishing for nothing else I shall chant the name of Hari and tears will stream
down my eyes?
When shall my prana
(life breath) and mind be pure. When shall I visit the Vrindavan of love, when
shall the bonds of the world break and the collyrium of knowledge will drive
away the darkness from my eyes.
When shall this iron body turn into gold by the touch of
touchstone divine?
When shall I have the vision of a universe permeated with God and
wallow on the path of bhakti?
O, when shall I be free from ritual worship? When shall the pride
of family and caste go?
O, when shall I be free from fear and shame? When shall I be free
from the pride of customs of society?
With the dust of the feet of bhaktas rubbed all over my body and
with the bag of perpetual dispassion around my shoulders, when shall I drink
the water of love from the Yamuna river of divine love with the palms of my
hands?
Maddened with love when shall I now weep, now laugh and now swim
in the sea of Sachchidananda?
Intoxicated myself when shall I intoxicate others and constantly
roam about at the feet of the Lord?
Chapter Two
Discussion on jnana and vijnana
vision of Brahman
In the meanwhile Thakur Sri Ramakrishna regains
outer-consciousness. The song has ended. Now starts a very interesting talk for
the common man, the scholar and the fool, the child and the old, man and woman,
elder and small, high and low. All in
the assembly are spellbound. All are
gazing at the beautiful face in front.
Where is that terrible pain now?
His face is still like a blooming lotus as if a divine light is emitting
from it. Now addressing the Doctor,
Thakur says, “Give up shyness; what is there to be ashamed of repeating the
name of God? ‘Shame, hatred and fear do
not let one attain Him.’ That I am a big man and I dance uttering ‘Hari, Hari.’
When big people hear of it, what will they think of me? It would be a shame if
they were to say, ‘I say brother, the Doctor was dancing uttering Hari, Hari,’
please give up such an idea.”
The Doctor — I don’t think that way. I don’t care what others
say.
Sri Ramakrishna — You have too much of it. (All laugh.) Listen,
go beyond knowledge and ignorance. Then
alone you will be able to know Him.
Knowledge of various kinds is ajnana. The pride of learning is also
ajnana. ‘God pervades in all’ this conviction
is jnana. Knowing Him intimately is
called vijnana. Say, a thorn has
pricked into your foot. You need another thorn to take it out. When you have taken out the pricked thorn,
you throw away both the thorns. To
remove the thorn of ajnana (ignorance) you have to first bring in the thorn of
knowledge. Then both the thorns of
knowledge and ignorance have to be thrown away. He is beyond jnana and ajnana.
Lakshman said to Rama, ‘How strange!
Vaishishtha Deva[1]
is such a jnani (great man of knowledge). Even he wept inconsolably at the
death of his son.’ Rama said, ‘Brother, he who has knowledge also has
ignorance. He who has knowledge of one
kind has also knowledge of various kinds.
He who is aware of light also knows darkness. Brahman is beyond knowledge and ignorance, beyond vice and
virtue, beyond dharma (righteous
action) and adharma (unrighteous
works), beyond purity and impurity.’
Saying so Sri Ramakrishna
repeats a song of Rama Prasad —
Come, O my mind, let us go out for a walk.
Let us gather the four fruits at the foot of Kalpataru, viz.,
Kali.
You have, O my mind, two wives pravritti[2]
and nivritti[3].
Take nivritti on the way to the tree[4].
Beyond speech and mind the real nature of Brahman
can not be described
Shyam Basu — What will remain when both the thorns are thrown
away?
Sri Ramakrishna — Nitya-shuddha-bodha-rupam4. Now how can I explain it to you? If somebody asks you how ghee
(clarified butter) tastes, how will you explain it? At the most you may say, ‘What is ghee like, it is what it is.’
A girl asked her friend, ‘Your
husband has come. Well, tell me what
joy do you feel on his coming?’ The
friend said, ‘Sister, you will know it only when you have a husband. How can I tell it to you?’ The Purana says
that when Bhagavati (Mother Goddess) took birth in the house of Himalaya, She
showed Herself to him in various forms. When Giriraj (the Lord of mountains,
Himalaya) had seen Her in all forms, he said to Her, ‘Mother, may I now have
the vision of the Brahman talked of in the Veda?’ Bhagavati replied, ‘Father, if you want to see Brahman, have the
company of sadhus.’
“What Brahman is cannot be explained by the word of mouth.
Somebody said, ‘Everything has been defiled by the touch of the tongue but
Brahman alone has not been defiled.’ It means that the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras
and other scriptures, one may say, have been defiled because they are recited
by the tongue. But what Brahman is, nobody has yet been able to express by the
word of mouth. So, Brahman has not yet
been defiled. ‘And what is the play with Sachchidananda, intercourse with Him’
can also not be described by the word of mouth. Only he knows who has
experienced it.”
Chapter Three
The pride of a pundit vice and virtue
Thakur Sri Ramakrishna addressing the Doctor again says,
“Look here, one cannot attain jnana till one is rid of pride. When shall I be free? When ‘I’ cease to be.
‘My’ and ‘mine’ both are ajnana. ‘You’
and ‘Yours’ constitute jnana. He who is
a bhakta says, “God, only You are the doer You alone are doing all. I am only
an instrument. I do what You make me do.
And all this splendour, this universe is Yours. This house, this family, is
Yours nothing is mine. I am Your servant. I only have the right to serve You
the way You command.”
“Anybody who has read even a small portion of a book, or
anything like it at once begins to take air. I had a talk with Ka-Thakur on
spiritual matters. He said, ‘All this I know.’
I said, ‘Does he who visits Delhi brag about it and take air? Does he
who is a babu say that he is a babu?’
Shyam Basu — He (Ka-Thakur) has great faith in you.
Sri Ramakrishna — What can I say, brother? In the Kali Temple of Dakshineswar there is
a woman sweeper so puffed up! She had
some jewellery on her body. Once while
she was walking on the path, she saw a few persons on the same path. The woman sweeper said to them, ‘I say, get
away from my path.’ If she could be so
arrogant, what can I say about others?
Shyam Basu — Mahashay! There is punishment for sin. Then how can you say that God is doing
everything?
Sri Ramakrishna — You indeed have the intellect of a goldsmith.
Narendra — The goldsmith’s intellect means a calculating
intellect.
Sri Ramakrishna — I say, you eat mangoes! What is it to you how
many hundred trees there are in the orchard, how many thousands are branches
there, how many millions are leaves there why calculate all this? You have come to eat mangoes. Eat them. (To Shyam Basu) You have got human
birth in this world so that you may practise spiritual disciplines. Try how you can gain bhakti at the lotus
feet of God. What need is there for
other things? What will you gain by philosophizing? See, you can get intoxicated with a quarter of wine. What need have you to know how many maunds
of wine there is in the wine shop?
The Doctor — Besides, God
intoxication is infinite. This intoxication has no end.
Sri Ramakrishna (to Shyam Basu) — And then, give general power
of attorney to God. Leave the whole
burden on Him. If you give
responsibility to a good fellow, will he deceive you? Whether He will punish you for your sins or not, it is for Him to
see.
The Doctor — Only He knows what is in His mind. What can a man
tell by calculation? He is beyond all
calculation!
Sri Ramakrishna (to Shyam Basu) —
You people have only this to say. The
residents of Calcutta say that God is partial because He has kept one in
happiness and the other in sorrow.
Whatever these rascals have in their mind, the same they see in God.
Is earning name and fame the aim of life?
“Hema used to visit Dakshineswar. Whenever he would meet me, he would say, ‘Well, Bhattacharya
Mahashay, isn’t earning a name in the world the main thing?’ You see, very few
people say that the aim of human life is God-realization.’’
Chapter Four
The gross, the subtle, the causal and the great cause
Shyam Basu — Can anyone show the subtle body? Can anyone demonstrate that this very subtle
body departs outside?
Sri Ramakrishna — Those who are bhaktas in the true sense, what
need is there for them to demonstrate it.
What does he care whether some rascal believes it or not? He doesn’t feel the desire of making friends
with some big fellow.
Shyam Basu — Well, how the gross body, the subtle body and
others differ from each other?
Sri Ramakrishna — The body that is made of five elements is
gross body. The mind, the intellect,
the ego and consciousness these constitute the subtle body. That which brings the joy of God, makes you
enjoy Him is the karana[5]
(causal body). It is called ‘Bhagavati
tanu[6]’
in the Tantra. Last of all is the Mahakarana[7]
(Turiya) which cannot be described by the word of mouth.
The need for practising spiritual discipline
devotion to God alone is the basic thing
“What use is it just hearing all this? You have to do something.
“What use is it to shout, ‘Hemp, hemp?’ This cannot give you any intoxication.
“You cannot have intoxication even if you grind hemp and apply
it on your body. You have to eat some.
Which is number 41 grade yarn and which is number 40 this cannot be explained
unless you enter this trade. For those
who are in this trade it is not at all difficult to pick out yarn of a
particular grade. So, I say, ‘Practise
some sadhana.’ Then you will know all what are the gross, the subtle, the karana and the Mahakarna. Whenever you
pray to God, you must only pray for devotion at His lotus feet.
“After Ahalya was freed from the curse, Ramachandra said to her,
‘Ask for a boon from me.’ Ahalya said,
‘Rama, if you wish to grant me a boon do grant that even if I am born as a pig
it won’t matter; but, O Rama, may my mind always dwell at your lotus feet.’
“I asked Mother only for bhakti. Offering flowers at the feet of the Mother and folding my hands,
I said: Mother, here is Your ajnana, here is Your jnana just grant me pure
devotion. Here is Your purity, here is Your impurity just grant me pure
devotion. Here are Your virtuous acts, here are the vice just grant me pure
devotion. Here is Your dharma (righteous work), here is Your adharma
(unrighteous work) just grant me pure devotion.
“Dharma, i.e.
charitable work etc. If you take dharma, you will also have to take adharma. If you accept pious virtue, you will also have to accept
vice. If you believe in jnana, you will
have to believe in ajnana too. If you take purity, you will also have to take
impurity. He who is aware of light is also aware of darkness. If you have the
knowledge of one, you also have the knowledge of many. He who has the knowledge of right also has
the knowledge of wrong.
“He who has bhakti at the lotus feet of the
Lord, even though he may be eating pork is blessed. On the other hand if even taking havishya (boiled rice with clarified
butter) one’s mind is attached to the world ...”
The Doctor — Then it is not right. I tell you here one thing that Buddha took pork. He took pork and also suffered from colic.
Because of this disease Buddha used to take opium. Do you know what is Nirvana and all that? Taking opium and
remaining sedated. He would lose all external consciousness. This was his
Nirvana.
Hearing such an elucidation of Buddha’s Nirvana everybody
laughs. The conversation goes on.
Chapter Five
Household and selfless work Theosophy
Sri Ramakrishna (to Shyam Basu) — There is no harm in leading
the life of a householder. But you must do your work selflessly fixing your
mind at the lotus feet of the Lord.
Just see, if a person has a boil on his back he talks to everybody and
perhaps attends to his work too. But his mind remains tied to the boil. It is
the same way.
“You will live in the world like an unchaste wife. Her mind remains drawn towards her lover
though she performs her household duties. (To the Doctor) Did you understand?”
The Doctor — Without such bhava (attitude) how can I understand?
Shyam Basu — You do understand somewhat. Don’t you? (Everybody
laughs.)
Sri Ramakrishna
(laughing) — He has been in this trade for quite some time. Isn’t it? (All laugh.)
Shyam Basu — Mahashay, what do you think of Theosophy?
Sri Ramakrishna — The main thing is that those who make
disciples are people of the lower class.
Also they who wish to acquire siddhi, i.e. occult powers, they too are
of the lower class. For example, the
power to walk across the Ganga on foot; to be able to tell what a person is talking
of in a distant region it is also (an occult) power. It is indeed very difficult to have pure
bhakti for the Lord.
Shyam Basu — But they (Theosophists) are trying to re-establish
Hinduism.
Sri Ramakrishna — I don’t know much about them.
Shyam Basu — Where does the jivatman
(embodied soul) go after death whether in the region of the moon, or that
of some planet and so on is all explained in Theosophy.
Sri Ramakrishna — Let it be so. Do you know how I feel? Somebody asked Hanuman, ‘What day and date
is today?’ Hanuman said, ‘I don’t know the day, nor the date, nor the position
of the planets nothing. I only meditate on Rama.’ My bhava (attitude) is exactly like this.
Shyam Basu — They say that all are mahatmas (spiritually great).
Do you agree?
Sri Ramakrishna — If you have faith in my words, I say,
‘Yes.’ Now leave these matters alone.
Come here when I am a little better. If
you trust me, you will find some way to peace.
Don’t you see that I do not accept money, nor do I accept clothes. No offering has to be made here. That is why so many persons visit me. (All
laugh.) (To the Doctor) I have been talking to you all this. Please don’t take it ill. You have done all these things earning of
money and name, and lecturing. Now fix
your mind for sometime on the Lord. And come here now and then. Talks on God inspire one.”
After sometime the Doctor rises to depart. Just then enters Girish Ghosh and having
taken the dust of the feet of Sri Ramakrishna takes his seat. The Doctor is happy to see him and takes his
seat again.
The Doctor — When I was here, he (Girish Babu) didn’t come. As I rose to leave, he has arrived. (All
laugh.)
The Doctor and Girish begin to talk of the Science
Association.
Sri Ramakrishna — Will you take me
there sometime?
The Doctor — If you go there, you will fall unconscious seeing
all the wonderful acts of the Lord!
Sri Ramakrishna — Are you sure?
Chapter Six
Adoration of the Guru
The Doctor (to Girish) — Do anything you like. But do not worship him as God. You trouble this nice man no end.
Girish — How can I help it, sir? What can I call him who has
made me cross the ocean of the world and the ocean of doubts, tell me? Does his
excreta look like excreta?
The Doctor — It is not so with excreta. It does not repel me either. A shopkeeper’s son came to me and defecated
there. Everybody covered his nose with
cloth. I sat beside him for half an
hour and didn’t bring my handkerchief to my nose, not till the sweeper came and
cleaned the place.
I know that I am the same as he is. Why
feel repulsion from him? Can’t I take the dust of his (Sri Ramakrishna’s)
feet? See, I take it. (He takes the
dust of Sri Ramakrishna’s feet.)
Girish — The angels are ringing bells at this moment.
The Doctor — What is strange about taking dust of his feet? I can take dust of anybody’s feet. See! See, I am taking! (He takes the dust of
the feet of all.)
Narendra (to the Doctor) — We consider him as Godlike. Do you know how? Like there is a point
somewhere between the vegetable creation and the animal creation where it is
most difficult to distinguish whether it is animate or inanimate. It is the same with man-world and
God-world. Between these two there is a
particular spot where it is difficult to say whether a man is human or God.
The Doctor — I say brother, illustrations do not apply to God.
Narendra — I am not saying that he is God. I am only saying that he is a Godlike man.
The Doctor — One should keep such ideas within oneself. It is
not right to bring them to light. Nobody
understands my feelings. Even my best
friends think of me as hard and cruel.
Perhaps, you people too will turn me out with insults.
Sri Ramakrishna (to the Doctor) — What do you say? These people
have great affection for you. They
await your arrival so eagerly.
Girish — Everyone has the greatest respect for you.
The Doctor — Even my son and my wife believe that I am hard
hearted because my fault is that I don’t give expression to my feelings before
others.
Girish — In that case sir, it is better that you open the doors
of your heart out of pity for your friends.
The Doctor — How can I tell you? Like you my feelings too get worked up (I go in bhava). (To
Narendra) I shed tears in solitude.
Great men and atonement of mankind
avatara and the like and Narendra
The Doctor (to Sri Ramakrishna) — Well, in bhava you place your
foot on others’ person. This is not
right.
Sri Ramakrishna — But, do I know that I am placing my foot on
someone’s person?
The Doctor — But you know that this is not right.
Sri Ramakrishna — How to tell you what happens to me in the
state of bhava? After that state is over, it comes to my mind that perhaps I
have this disease because of it. I
become mad in God’s bhava. All this
happens in (the state of) madness. How
can I help it?
The Doctor — He agrees.
He expresses regret for what he does.
He knows that such act is sinful.
Sri Ramakrishna (to Narendra) — You have so much penetration.
Why don’t you speak and make him understand?
Girish (to the Doctor) — Mahashay, you have misunderstood. He is not sorry for this. His body is pure, sinless. He touches people for their good. There is a great possibility of his catching
the disease by taking up their sins. That is why at times he thinks this
way. When you had an attack of colic,
didn’t you feel regret for having kept awake at night and studying? Is it,
therefore, wrong to keep awake and study at night? You can have regret for the disease. So, please don’t think that touching someone’s person for his
welfare is not right.
The Doctor (put out of countenance, to Girish) — I stand
defeated. Give me, give the dust of
your feet. (He takes the dust of Girish’s feet.) (To Narendra) At least I have
to concede to his intellectual power.
Narendra (to the Doctor) — And think of this too. You can devote your life for a scientific
discovery without caring for the physical hardship and so forth. But can he not risk his health for God, the
greatest of all sciences?
The Doctor — All religious reformers Jesus, Chaitanya, Buddha
and Mohammed were filled with arrogance at the end and had said, ‘Only
whatever I have said is right.’ How is
this?
Girish (to the Doctor) — Mahashay, even you are now guilty of
the same fault. You have the arrogance
of all of them combined. When you point
out this wrong, you yourself are guilty of that.
The Doctor is silent.
Narendra (to the Doctor) — We offer him worship bordering on
divine worship.
Thakur Sri Ramakrishna is laughing like a child in joy.