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Sri Ramakrishna’s Birth Anniversary Celebrated in Dakshineswar
Chapter I
With devotees at daybreak
Today the birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna will be celebrated in the Kali Temple – it is Sunday, 11 March, 1883, the second day of Falgun. The intimate disciples of Thakur will celebrate his birthday with him.
This morning devotees have been coming one by one to the temple garden. The shrine of Mother Bhavatarini[1] faces the entrance to the temple garden. The sanai[2] is being played beautifully in the natmandir, in prabhati[3] raga (type of melody), just after the early morning arati. It is spring and all the creepers and trees have clad themselves in new leaves. The hearts of the devotees dance with joy in anticipation of Thakur’s birthday celebration. The very atmosphere seems filled with waves of heavenly joy. On arrival, M. sees that Bhavanath, Rakhal and Bhavanath’s friend, Kalikrishna, are already there. It is very early in the morning. Thakur is talking with them happily, seated on the eastern verandah. M. goes to them and prostrates before Thakur to salute him.
Sri Ramakrishna (to M.) — Oh, you have come! (To the devotees) One does not succeed if one has the feeling of shame, hatred and fear. How much joy you will have today! But the rascals who do not sing and dance, intoxicated with the name of the Lord, will never attain Him. Why feel ashamed of talking about God, why fear what others think? Come, sing together.
Bhavanath and Kalikrishna sing.
Song –
Blessed is this day so full of joy,
We are together spreading Your true religion in Bharat (India).
Every heart is Your abode, everywhere Your holy name is taken.
The community of devotees is singing Your glories,
Lord, we want neither wealth, nor friends, nor fame. We desire nothing.
Men and women pray to You with a longing heart.
O Lord, we have taken refuge at Your feet. Why fear? Why fear death?
Shouting, ‘Victory, victory to You,’ we have attained the mine of immortality.
Sri Ramakrishna listens to the song with full attention and his hands folded. While listening, he suddenly goes into ecstasy. In fact, Thakur’s mind is like a dry matchstick – strike it but once and it lights. The mind of an ordinary man is like a wet matchstick – howsoever much you may strike it, it doesn’t ignite. The reason is that it is attached to the objects of sensory enjoyment. Sri Ramakrishna remains absorbed in meditation. After a long time, Kalikrishna whispers something in Bhavanath’s ear.
What should be first? Name of the Lord or instruction to the working classes
Kalikrishna salutes Thakur and rises. Thakur is surprised and asks him where he is going.
Bhavanath — Sir, he has some work to do, so he must go.
Sri Ramakrishna — Why does he need to go?
Bhavanath — Sir, he is going to the Baranagore Working Men’s Institute.
Kalikrishna leaves.
Sri Ramakrishna — He is unlucky. You see, the name of the Lord today will give such great joy! His fate does not allow him to enjoy it.
Chapter II
Sri Ramakrishna with devotees during his birthday celebrations – rules of conduct very difficult for monk
It is between 8:30 and 9:00 in the morning. Not feeling well, Thakur did not take a dip in the Ganges today. Instead, a pitcher of water for his bath is brought to him on the eastern verandah. Thakur takes his bath and the devotees help him. As he bathes, Thakur says, “Keep a jug of water aside.” He pours that water on his head last of all. Sri Ramakrishna is taking great care today – he doesn’t pour more than a jug full of water over his head.
After his bath, he chants the name of Bhagavan in a very sweet voice. Putting on freshly laundered clothes, he goes south through the brick courtyard to Kali’s shrine. A devotee or two accompany him. He constantly repeats the Name. His eyes, half closed, look like the eye of a bird hatching eggs.
Reaching Mother Kali’s shrine, he offers his obeisance and performs worship. It was not the time for formal worship, but he offers flowers and sandal paste at the feet of the Mother, and then brings them to touch his own forehead. Lastly, he brings the Mother’s flowers and leaves to his forehead. Then he says to Bhavanath, “Take the green coconut which has been offered to Mother Kali.”
Thakur then goes toward his room through the brick courtyard. He is accompanied by M. and Bhavanath, who holds the green coconut. On the right is the Radhakanta (Radha and Krishna) temple. Thakur says, “This is the home of Vishnu.” He offers them obeisance by lying prostrate on the ground, after having the darshan[4] of the dual images of Radha and Krishna. To his left are the twelve Shiva temples. He offers obeisance, thinking of Sadashiva[5].
Thakur now reaches his room. He sees that devotees are already assembled there – Rama, Nityagopal, Kedar Mukherji and many others. All of them lie prostrate to salute him. Thakur enquires about their well-being.
Seeing Nityagopal, he says, “Do you want something to eat?” Nityagopal has the attitude of a child. He is not married; he is twenty-three or twenty-four years old. He is generally surcharged with ecstasy. He sometimes visits alone, and at other times in the company of Ram. Sri Ramakrishna loves him because of his ecstatic state. Thakur mentions occasionally that he is in the state of a paramahamsa[6]. Just now, he is looking at him as Gopal (child Krishna).
Nityagopal says, “I would like to have something to eat.” His whole conduct is childlike.
Instruction to Nityagopal: Complete prohibition of the company of women for the tyagi (man of renunciation)
After eating, Thakur takes him to the semi-circular verandah in the western corner of the room near the Ganges. He talks to him.
A great woman devotee, thirty or thirty-two years old, occasionally visits Sri Ramakrishna. She has great devotion to him. She also has great motherly affection for Nityagopal because of his wonderful states of mind. She often takes him to her house.
Sri Ramakrishna (to Nityagopal) — Do you visit her?
Nityagopal (childlike) — Yes, I do go. She takes me home with her.
Sri Ramakrishna — Beware, holy man! Go to her once or twice. Not very often, or you will fall! ‘Lust and greed’ constitute maya. A holy man must remain very far away from women. Everybody has a fall in their company – even Brahma and Vishnu struggle for life in their company.
The devotee listens to all this.
M. (to himself) — How strange! Thakur sometimes says that this devotee is in the state of a paramahamsa. Even in this high state there is risk! Thakur has made such difficult rules of conduct for a sadhu. He runs the risk of downfall if he associates himself with women. If one does not have such a high ideal, how can one be liberated? That woman is unique in devotion. Even then, there is risk! Now I understand why Sri Chaitanya awarded such hard punishment to the Younger Haridas. Even though Mahaprabhu (Sri Chaitanya) forbade him, the younger Haridas talked with a young widow. Haridas was a sannyasi (monk), of course. So Mahaprabhu left him. What punishment! How hard the rule for a sannyasi! And what love Sri Ramakrishna has for this devotee! Lest some misfortune should befall him later on, he promptly cautions him in advance. The devotees are struck dumb! ‘Beware, holy man.’ This grave warning is heard by them all.
Chapter III
God with form and God without form – Sri Ramakrishna’s samadhi at the name of Rama
Now Sri Ramakrishna has come with the devotees to the northeastern verandah of the room. A householder, a resident of Dakshineswar, is also seated with the devotees. He talks Vedanta at home. In the presence of Thakur he is now talking with Kedar Chatterji on the topic of Shabda Brahman[7].
Sri Ramakrishna and avatarhood – Sri Ramakrishna and harmony of religions
The Resident of Dakshineswar — Is the Anahata Shabda[8] always sounding within and without?
Sri Ramakrishna — This sound alone is not enough. There is something indicated by the sound. Can I derive pleasure just from your name? Unless I see you, I cannot be a hundred percent happy.
The Resident of Dakshineswar — That Shabda is Brahman, the Anahata sound.
Sri Ramakrishna (to Kedar) — Oh, I see. His belief is like that of the rishis. The rishis said to Ramachandra, ‘Rama, we know you are the son of Dasharatha. Bharadvaja and other rishis may take you as an avatar and worship you. But we only want Akhanda Sachchidananda (the Indivisible, Existence Knowledge Bliss Absolute).’ Hearing this, Rama laughed and left.
Kedar — The rishis did not accept Rama as an avatar. They were fools.
Sri Ramakrishna (gravely) — Please don’t say such things. We all have our own inclinations. Besides, what one understands is what one can digest. The mother cooks fish for her children in different ways. To some she serves pulao (fish with fried rice). But every stomach cannot digest pulao. To them she gives fish soup – whatever one can digest. And then some people prefer fried fish, and some, fish with sour sauce. (All laugh.) We all have different dispositions.
“The rishis were jnanis (men of knowledge), so they sought Akhanda Sachchidananda (Indivisible Existence Knowledge Bliss Absolute). On the other hand, devotees seek the avatar – to enjoy his love. Seeing Him, the darkness of the mind is dispelled. The Purana says, ‘When Ramachandra entered the Council Hall, it was as if a hundred suns were shining.’ Then why were the councilors not burnt? The answer to this is that His light is not physical light. The lotus of the heart of all the councilors opened their petals. You see, when the sun rises, the lotus opens its petals.”
Sri Ramakrishna is talking to the devotees as he stands there. Suddenly his mind is withdrawn from the external world and plunges within. “The lotus of the heart has opened up,” he says. He now goes into deep samadhi.
The lotus of Sri Ramakrishna’s heart has opened in samadhi, having the vision of Bhagavan. He stands as before, but like an inanimate object. His holy face is radiant and smiling. Some of the devotees are seated, while others are standing. None utters a word. The devotees watch him intently. They have never before seen this unique image of love, or enjoyed the sight of samadhi. After a long time, his samadhi breaks.
Taking a long breath, Sri Ramakrishna repeats the name of Rama again and again, as though nectar flows from every letter of the word. Now he sits down. The devotees sit around him and gaze at him.
Sri Ramakrishna (to the devotees) — When an avatar comes, the ordinary man cannot recognize him – he comes as if in secret. Three or four of his intimate devotees recognize him. Rama was a full manifestation of Brahman, he was a perfect avatar – but only twelve rishis knew this. The other rishis said, ‘Rama, we only take you as a son of Dasharatha.’
“The Akhanda Sachchidananda[9] cannot be known by all, but he who attains Nitya (the Absolute) and yet lives in His lila (sport) to enjoy himself with Him has ripe bhakti. Only after you have seen the queen in the foreign land (England), can you describe her, her work, and everything else about her. Bharadvaja and other rishis prayed to Rama in these words: “Rama, you are that very Akhanda Sachchidananda. You have manifested Yourself in front of us in the form of Rama. In fact, it is with the help of Your maya that You have appeared as a human being.’ Bharadvaja and other rishis were great devotees of Rama. They had ripe bhakti.”
Chapter IV
Sri Ramakrishna in the joy of kirtan and samadhi
The devotees sit wonderstruck listening to this doctrine of the avatar. Some of them say, “What a wonder! He who is called Akhanda Sachchidananda in the Vedas, beyond mind and speech, that Being has manifested Himself before us as a man three and a half cubits[10].” Since Sri Ramakrishna himself is saying this, it must be true. Had it not been so, this great man would not have gone into samadhi on saying, “Rama, Rama.” Undoubtedly, he has been seeing Rama’s form in the lotus of his heart.
Soon the devotees of Konnagar arrive, singing kirtan to the accompaniment of khol (Indian drum) and cymbals – Manomohan, Nabai and many others singing the kirtan of the Name reach Sri Ramakrishna in that same northeastern verandah. Sri Ramakrishna, intoxicated with divine love, sings devotional songs with them.
At times during the kirtan, while dancing, he goes into samadhi. Then he stands like a statue. In this state, the devotees adorn him with garlands of flowers. They are big interwoven garlands. The devotees see him as Gauranga himself before them. Sometimes, the Lord is in the inmost state of samadhi (divine consciousness), when he loses all external consciousness and appears like an inanimate statue. At other times, overcome with divine love, he dances in a semi-conscious state. When in full consciousness, like Gauranga, he joins the devotees in singing hymns.
Sri Ramakrishna stands in samadhi. He has garlands around his neck. A devotee holds him for fear he might fall. Other devotees stand around him and sing kirtan to the accompaniment of drums and cymbals. His sight is fixed, he faces westward; his beautiful moon-like face beams with divine love.
The devotees gaze at this image of joy for a long time. His samadhi ends. It is mealtime. After awhile the kirtan also ends. The devotees busy themselves in serving Sri Ramakrishna his meal.
After resting for some time, Sri Ramakrishna puts on a new yellow cloth and sits down on the smaller cot. The devotees watch him. The unique figure of this joyous saint clad in yellow cloth and wearing a radiant smile on his face attracts them wholeheartedly. Their eyes are never satiated by watching this divinely rare, holy and loving person. M. says to himself, “I continue to want to watch him and to merge myself in that sea of beauty!”
Thakur sits down to take his meal. The devotees, too, happily partake of the prasad.
Chapter V
Talk on harmony of religions with the goswami
After the meal, Sri Ramakrishna rests on the smaller cot. The room, even the outer verandah, is full of people. The devotees sit on the floor in the room, gazing at Thakur all the while. Kedar, Suresh, Ram, Manomohan, Girindra, Rakhal, Bhavanath, M. and a number of other devotees are inside the room. Rakhal’s father is also in the room.
Thakur addresses a Vaishnava goswami[11] seated there. Thakur addresses him. Whenever Thakur sees a goswami, he bows his head in salutation. Sometimes he even prostrates himself.
The great importance of name or love of God – Ajamila
Sri Ramakrishna — Well, what do you say is the way?
Goswami — Sir, Nama (repetition of the holy Name) indeed takes one to Him. In the age of Kali, Name is of the greatest importance.
Sri Ramakrishna — Yes, undoubtedly. Name is of great importance. Yet if there is no love, how can it help? Deep yearning for the Lord is essential. What will it avail me if I repeat the Name but my mind remains tied to ‘lust and greed’?
“The scorpion or spider sting is not cured just like that. One has to treat it with the smoke of cow dung cakes.”
Goswami — But what about Ajamila? Ajamila was a great sinner; there was no sin he did not commit. But he attained liberation by calling his son by his name, Narayana, at the time of his death.
Sri Ramakrishna — Perhaps Ajamila had performed many meritorious deeds in an earlier birth. And it is a fact that he practiced austerities later on.
“And one can say this too, that it was his last birth. What use is it to wash an elephant if it again smears its body with mud. It becomes its original self. But before it enters its stable, if someone wipes the dust off and gives it a bath, it remains clean.
“Even if a person is purified by repeating the Name, it is possible that he maybe defiled later on by committing a number of sins. Such a person has no will power. He does not promise to himself that he will not commit another sin. A bath in the Ganges makes one’s sins disappear. But then, what does it avail one if sins disappear? They say that these sins live on the trees. As soon as a person returns from his bath in the Ganges, all his old sins jump onto his shoulders from the trees. (All laugh). The same old sins sit again on the shoulders! One takes a step or two after the bath and lo! they are there again on one’s shoulders!
“So, repeat the Name and also pray at the same time that you may develop love for the Lord. And that all transitory things, such as money, name and fame, and pleasures of the body, may have less and less attraction for you. You must pray thus.”
Vaishnavism and sectarianism – harmony of religions
Sri Ramakrishna (to the goswami) — When one develops sincere devotion to Him, one can realize the Lord by any religion. The Vaishnavas will attain Him, so will the devotees, the Vedantists and also the Brahmajnanis. And the Muslims and the Christians shall also attain Him. Everybody will attain God if they develop sincere devotion to Him. But some people pick a quarrel. They say, ‘Unless you repeat the name of Lord Krishna, you will not succeed.’ Others say, ‘If you don’t repeat the name of Mother Kali, you will achieve nothing.’ Yet others say, ‘Except through Christianity, you will reach nowhere.’
“Such intelligence is known as ‘dogmatic intellect’. Thinking that only my religion is true and all others are false is not right. You can attain the Lord by many paths.
“Besides, some say that the Lord has a form, that He is not formless, and they quarrel with others. The Vaishnavas quarrel with the Vedantists. Unless you see the Lord face to face, you cannot talk of Him correctly. He who has seen Him, knows that the Lord has forms and He is also formless. What else He is cannot be talked about.
“A number of blind men came to an elephant. Somebody told them that it was an elephant. The blind men asked, ‘What is the elephant like?’ and they began to touch its body. One of them said, ‘It is like a pillar.’ This blind man had only touched its leg. An another man said, ‘The elephant is like a husking basket.’ This person had only touched its ears. Similarly, he who touched its trunk or its belly talked of it differently. In the same way, he who has seen the Lord in a particular way limits the Lord to that alone and thinks that He is nothing else.
“A person, having defecated in a jungle, said when he returned, ‘I have seen a beautiful red chameleon under a tree.’ Another person said, ‘I went before you under that tree. Why, it is not red, it is green. I saw it with my own eyes.’ And another person said, ‘I know it well. I went earlier than both of you. I have also seen that chameleon. It is blue.’ Two other people reported that it was yellow or brown, as well as of various colours. This led to a big quarrel. Everybody thought that what he had seen is true. Finding them quarreling, a person said, ‘What is the matter, brothers?’ When he heard their accounts, he said, ‘I live under this very tree. I know very well what this animal is like. Each one of you is right in describing it. It is a chameleon – sometimes green, at other times blue, then again other colours. And at times I find it has no colour at all – it is attributeless.’ ”
God with form and without form
(To the goswami) “It is no use just saying that the Lord has a form. It is right that He assumes a human body, as in the case of, say, Sri Krishna. He appears before the devotees in different forms. This is true. But it is also true that He is the formless Akhanda Sachchidananda[12]. The Vedas say that He is both with form[13] and formless[14], with attributes[15] as well as attributeless[16].
“Do you know how it is? Sachchidananda is like an infinite ocean. When it becomes cold, ocean water freezes into ice, which floats on the surface in different shapes. In the same way, when the cold of bhakti affects the ocean of Sachchidananda, one sees God with form. For the devotee He is with form. But when the sun of jnana rises, the ice melts; it becomes water as before – water above, water below, water everywhere. That is why they pray in the Srimad Bhagavata, ‘Lord, You are with form, and You are also formless. We see you wandering around like a human being, though the Vedas say that You are beyond mind and speech.’
“So one can say that for some devotees He assumes eternal forms. There are places where the ice never melts – it assumes the form of crystal.”
Kedar — Sir, in the Srimad Bhagavata Vyasa Deva prayed for God’s forgiveness for three misgivings. At one place he says, ‘Oh Bhagavan, You are beyond mind and speech. But I am narrating Your lila (worldly play) – that is only Your aspect with form. Pray pardon me.’
Sri Ramakrishna — Yes, God is with form and He is also formless. Furthermore, He is even beyond form and formlessness. There is no limit to Him.
Chapter VI
Sri Ramakrishna – ever perfect and dispassion[17] of youth
Rakhal’s father is seated in Sri Ramakrishna’s room. Rakhal is living with Thakur these days. Rakhal’s father has married again after the passing away of his mother. He comes here sometimes to see Rakhal. He has no great objection to Rakhal’s staying here. He is a rich worldly man, always busy with litigation and other such matters. A number of lawyers, Deputy Magistrates and the like, often come to visit Thakur. Rakhal’s father comes to talk with them at times. He consults them on many worldly matters.
Sri Ramakrishna looks at Rakhal’s father every now and then. He wants Rakhal to stay with him at Dakshineswar.
Sri Ramakrishna (to Rakhal’s father and the devotees) — Oh, what a mood Rakhal is in these days! Watch him and you will see his lips move every now and then. You see, he mentally repeats the Lord’s name, so his lips move.
“All these boys are of the class of the ever-perfect. They are born with the knowledge of the Lord within. They will know when they are a little older that much contact with the world brings a sure fall. In the Vedas there is mention of a bird called Homa which lives high in the sky. It never comes down to earth. It lays its egg in the sky and the egg begins to fall. After some days a young chick breaks out of its shell and continues the fall. It is so high that it grows wings and opens its eyes during the fall. Still falling, it sees that it is going to hit the earth. Falling on the ground means sure death. Seeing the earth fast approach, the young bird suddenly swoops upward toward its mother. It has but one aim: to reach its mother.
“All these youngsters are like this bird. They are afraid of the world from their early years. They have only one care, ‘How to reach the Mother, how to attain the Lord.’
“You might ask, ‘How can they have such jnana and bhakti living among worldly people and born out of the semen of worldly parents?’ There is a deep meaning to this. If a gram falls on a mound of dung, it still germinates into a gram plant. How useful such a gram is! It has indeed fallen on a heap of dung. But does it mean that it will become a plant of some other type?
“Oh, what a mood Rakhal is developing these days! But how could it be otherwise? If arum is of a good quality, its shoots are also good. (All laugh). Like father, like son.”
M. (aside to Girindra) — He has explained God with form and God without form so well. Do the Vaishnavas believe only in God with form?
Girindra — Perhaps they do. They are one-sided.
M. — Have you been able to understand the ‘eternal form’ of God? What about the ‘crystal’? I am not able to understand it well.
Sri Ramakrishna (to M.) — Well brother, what are you talking about?
M. and Girindra smile but do not reply.
Brinde, the maidservant (to Ramlal) — I say, Ramlal, please give this man his meal. You may give me my meal later on.
Sri Ramakrishna — What! You have not given Brinde her meal?
Chapter VII
In joy of devotional songs at Panchavati
The devotees sing the kirtan in the Panchavati in the afternoon. Sri Ramakrishna joins them. Repeating the name of the Divine Mother with the devotees, he is filled with joy.
Song –
The kite of my mind was soaring high up in the sky of the feet of Mother Shyama.
The rough wind of ‘misdeeds’ made it fall, circling to the ground.
Maya’s pull made it heavy and I could not raise it again.
It got entangled with the string of love for wife and children.
Alas! Its crest of jnana is rent. One may pull at it but it falls down.
It has lost its crest, so how can it fly? The six passions have overpowered it.
It was tied to the string of bhakti. While playing, it fell into illusion.
Oh Nareschandra! Rather than weep or laugh, it was better not to have come to play.
They sing another song in accompaniment with drum and cymbals. Thakur dances with the devotees.
Song –
The bee of my mind drinks deep at the blue lotus-like feet of Mother Shyama.
At the blue lotus-like feet of Shyama, at the blue lotus-like feet of Mother Kali.
The honey of all worldly things – the flowers of lust and so on – have lost all charm.
The feet of the Mother are black-hued, so is the bee; black has mixed with black.
The five elements, turbulent and fascinating, have broken away on seeing this play.
It is only now that Kamalakanta has seen the fulfillment of his hopes.
Joys or sorrows are the same to him; the ocean of joy rolls on.
The kirtan continues. The devotees sing.
Song –
What a machine Ma Shyama has built!
(What a machine Ma Kali has made!)
In this machine three and a half cubits high, what pranks She is playing!
Mother, You Yourself are working this machine, holding its cord.
But the machine says: I am working by myself. It does not know who is working it.
Whoever finds the Mother remains a machine no more.
Yet some machines have even bound the Mother Herself with the cord of love.
Song –
One comes to this world to throw dice. Coming here, I had entertained so many hopes.
To hope for hope is a low state of mind. First I got a ‘five’ [of the dice].
Then a ‘twelve’! And ‘eighteen’ and ‘sixteen’. The way they come again and again, I, too, came to the world.
O Mother! When I got the ‘next twelve,’ I got entangled with the five[18] and the six[19].
The devotees enjoy themselves. When they stop for awhile, Thakur rises. A number of devotees have arrived in and around Thakur’s room.
Sri Ramakrishna is going south toward his room from the Panchavati. M. is with him. They meet Trailokya as they reach Bakultala. Trailokya offers his obeisance to him.
Sri Ramakrishna (to Trailokya) — They are singing in the Panchavati. Why don’t you go there?
Trailokya — What shall I do there?
Sri Ramakrishna — Why, it is very nice. Do see it once.
Trailokya — I have already been there once.
Sri Ramakrishna — Good, very good. Very nice.
Chapter VIII
Sri Ramakrishna and right conduct in household
It is about half past five or six. Sri Ramakrishna is seated with the devotees on the southeastern verandah. He is looking at the devotees.
Sri Ramakrishna (to Kedar and other devotees) — The sadhu who has renounced the world only repeats the name of Hari. He has no other work to do. If he meditates on the Lord, there is nothing to wonder at. If he doesn’t contemplate upon the Lord and doesn’t repeat the name of Hari, everybody would speak ill of him.
“But if a family man repeats the name of Hari, it is heroic. Just see: King Janaka was a great hero. He used to wield a double-edged sword – one of jnana and the other of karma. On the one hand he was a perfect knower of Brahman; on the other, he engaged himself in worldly work. An unchaste wife attends to her household work with great care. But she is constantly thinking of her lover.
“The company of holy men is always essential. Holy men bring you in contact with the Lord.”
Kedar — That is true, Sir! Saints come for the good of mankind. They are like the railway engine which has many compartments attached to it. It pulls them all. Or they are like a river or reservoir: they quench the thirst of many people.
The devotees gradually prepare to go home. One by one they prostrate themselves before Sri Ramakrishna and take the dust of his feet. Addressing Bhavanath, Sri Ramakrishna says, “Don’t go home today. I am greatly inspired when I see you people.”
Bhavanath has not yet entered family life. He is about 19 or 20, fair complexioned, and has a beautiful body. He begins to shed tears at the very mention of the Lord. Sri Ramakrishna sees him as Narayana (the very manifestation of God).
[1] The Divine Mother, saviour of mankind from the bonds of the world
[2] A wooden wind instrument
[3] Matin; morning song
[4] Seeing, experiencing; paying respect to a holy place or person by a ceremonial visit; also the blessing or purification felt in the presence of holiness.
[5] An appellation of Lord Shiva
[6] Highest class among saints who have attained final knowledge and sanctity
[7] The sound of Om
[8] Unstruck sound
[9] Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute
[10] Unit of length based on the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger and usually equal to about 18 inches
[11] A Vaishnava guru or preceptor
[12] Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute
[13] Sakara
[14] Nirakara
[15] Saguna
[16] Nirguna
[17] Vairagya; non-attachment
[18] Five elements collectively, namely: earth, water, heat, air and space.
[19] Six passions
