Section VII

Sri Ramakrishna as Guru at Dakshineswar with Intimate Disciples

Chapter I

Listening to the life of Prahlada puts Thakur into ecstasy – he condemns cohabiting with one’s wife

Sri Ramakrishna is seated on the floor in his room at Dakshineswar, listening to Ramlal reading the life of Prahlada from the Bhaktamala. It is about eight o’clock.

It is Saturday, 15 December 1883, the first day of the dark fortnight of Agrahayana. Mani is on retreat with Thakur in Dakshineswar. Seated near Thakur, he is listening to the narration of the life of Prahlada. Rakhal, Latu, and Harish are in the room. Some devotees are seated, while others are moving about. Hazra is on the verandah.

Thakur goes into ecstasy while he listens to Prahlada’s life. When Hiranyaksha was killed by Narasimha,[1] Brahma and the other gods saw his frightful aspect and heard his mighty roar. Fearing that such anger might lead to the dissolution of the world,[2] they sent Prahlada to him. Like a child, Prahlada chanted a hymn of praise to the deity who, filled with love for devotees, licked Prahlada’s body affectionately. With deep emotion, Thakur exclaims, “Ah, ah! What love for the devotee!” As he says this, he goes into bhava samadhi. His body is motionless, and tears of intense love fall from the corners of his eyes.

When Sri Ramakrishna’s ecstasy is over, he goes to his smaller cot and sits there. Mani sits on the floor at his feet. Thakur talks with Mani, expressing his anger and disgust for those treading the path of God while at the same time cohabiting with their wives.

Sri Ramakrishna: “Are you not ashamed of yourself! You have children and you still cohabit with your wife. This is the conduct of an animal! Have you no aversion to saliva, blood, excreta, urine? Whoever contemplates the lotus feet of God sees even the most beautiful woman as ash from a cremation fire. To enjoy a body which will not last and which contains all kinds of impurities – worms, pus, phlegm and so on! Don’t you feel ashamed of yourself?”

Thakur is intoxicated with love for God – worship of Mother Kali

M. sits still, hanging his head from the harsh rebuke. Sri Ramakrishna adds, “When a person gets even a drop of God’s ecstatic love, ‘lust and greed’ become so insignificant! When you get a drink sweetened with sugar candy, how can you care for one mixed with molasses? When you pray to God with a yearning heart, when you chant His name and glories incessantly, you gradually develop that kind of love for Him.”

Saying this, Thakur is intoxicated with ecstatic love and dances around in his room, singing:

Who is chanting the name of Hari on the bank of the Ganges?

Is it Nitai, the bestower of love, who has come?

Who but he can bring peace to the soul?

It is now about ten o’clock. Ramlal has ended the daily worship of Mother Kali in the temple. Thakur goes to the temple, accompanied by Mani. Entering the shrine, Thakur sits on the worshiper’s seat. He offers a flower or two at the feet of the Mother, and placing a flower on his head, he meditates. Then he sings a hymn of praise to the Divine Mother:

I have heard, O Consort of Shiva, Your fear-dispelling name and have laid on You my burden. Save me as You will.[3]

Returning from the temple, Thakur sits on the southeast verandah of his room. It is about ten o’clock. The offering of food to the deities and their worship has not yet been performed. Thakur takes some butter and fruits which had been offered earlier to Mother Kali and Radhakanta. Rakhal and other devotees also have some.

Rakhal is sitting near Thakur. He is reading Smile’s Self Help, about Lord Erskine.

Work without expectation of any reward – a man of knowledge reads no scriptures

Sri Ramakrishna (to M.): “What does he say?”

M.: “That Lord Erskine used to perform his duties without the expectation of any reward. The book is about selfless work.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Then it is very good. But the mark of a man of perfect knowledge is that he doesn’t keep a single book with him. For instance, Sukadeva. All knowledge was on the tip of his tongue.

“Holy books, scriptures, contain sand mixed with sugar. A holy man takes only the sugar, leaving the sand. A holy man takes only the essence.”

Is Thakur alluding to his own state by referring to Sukadeva to make the devotees understand?

Vaishnavcharan, the singer, arrives and sings the kirtan, “Subol Milan.”

After a while Ramlal brings prasad for Thakur on a tray. After eating it, Thakur rests for some time.

M. spends the night in the nahabat. Whenever the Holy Mother came to Dakshineswar to serve Sri Ramakrishna, she would stay there. For many months now she has been living in Kamarpukur.

Chapter II

Sri Ramakrishna with Rakhal, Latu, Mukherji of Janai, and other devotees

Sri Ramakrishna is sitting on the western circular verandah with Mani. In front of them the Ganges is flowing southward. Close by are flowering oleander, bela, jasmine, rose, and poinciana. It is about ten o’clock.

It is Sunday, 16 December 1883, the second day of the dark fortnight of Agrahayana.

Thakur sings as he gazes at Mani:

O Mother Tara! You will have to take me across for I have taken refuge in You.

I am like a bird in a cage.

I have committed wrongdoings beyond number.

I am bereft of spiritual knowledge, and like a cow that has lost its calf,

I wander to and fro, drowning in maya’s spell.

Earnest longing like Sita’s – thoughts on Rama

“But why? Why should I be like a bird in a cage? For shame!”

While talking, Thakur goes into ecstasy, his body and mind still, his eyes shedding tears. After some time, he prays, “Mother! Make me like Sita. Grant that I may absolutely forget everything – body, organ of generation, hands, feet, and breasts – may I not be aware of any of these. My only thought should be: Where is Rama?”

Is Thakur inspired with Sita to make Mani realize how much yearning is needed to attain God? Sita was mad for Rama. She lived for him and centered all her thoughts on him. She had forgotten and was oblivious of the body, which is so dear to everyone.

It is four o’clock. Sri Ramakrishna is again sitting in the room with the devotees. Mukherji of Janai has come. He belongs to the same gotra (sub-caste) as that of Prankrishna. With him is a Brahmo friend well versed in the scriptures. Mani, Rakhal, Latu, Harish, Jogin, and other devotees are also present.

Jogin[4] is a member of the Savaran Choudhury family of Dakshineswar. Almost every afternoon he comes to visit Thakur and goes home at night. Jogin has not yet married.

Mukherji (after saluting Sri Ramakrishna): “It is a great joy to meet you.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “God is present within everyone; all have the same gold within. It is only that with some there is a greater manifestation; in the worldly-minded the gold lies buried under so much dirt.”

Mukherji (laughing): “Sir, what is the difference between worldly and otherworldly?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “While practicing spiritual disciplines, one must renounce, saying to oneself, ‘Not this. Not this.’ After attaining God, one realizes that God Himself has become everything.

“When Ramachandra felt dispassion for the world, Dasharatha approached Rishi Vasishtha Deva in great anxiety and asked for his help in dissuading Rama from renouncing family life. Rishi Vasishtha went to Ramachandra and found him in a sad mood, feeling deep dispassion for the world. Vasishtha said, ‘Rama, why do you want to renounce worldly life? Is the world outside God? Let’s discuss this.’ Rama then saw that the world was also made of the same Supreme Brahman. So he kept quiet.

“Butter comes out of the same substance that makes buttermilk. It belongs to the substance to which buttermilk belongs, as buttermilk belongs to the substance to which butter belongs. When you have churned buttermilk assiduously to take out the butter (that is, attained Brahmajnana), you see that both butter and buttermilk exist together – where there is butter, there is also buttermilk. As long as one feels that Brahman exists, then living beings, the world, and the twenty-four cosmic principles also exist.”

How to attain knowledge of Brahman

“One cannot tell what Brahman is from words. Everything has become polluted through human speech. No one has been able to say what Brahman is. Thus It has not been polluted. I said this to Vidyasagar. He was very pleased to hear it.

“The knowledge of Brahman cannot be attained when there is the least trace of worldliness. It is only possible when the mind is completely rid of ‘lust and greed.’ Parvati said to Giriraj, ‘Father, if you want the knowledge of Brahman, seek the company of holy men.’”

Is Thakur saying that the knowledge of Brahman is not possible if a worldly person or a sannyasin lives amidst ‘lust and greed’?

Fall from yoga – living in the world after attaining knowledge of Brahman

Sri Ramakrishna, addressing Mukherji, continues: “You have wealth and riches. Even then you call on God. This is very good. The Gita says that the one who falls from yoga is reborn as a devotee in a rich family.”

Mukherji (laughing, to his friend): “One fallen from yoga is reborn in the house of the prosperous.”[5]

Sri Ramakrishna: “If God wills, He can keep a man of spiritual knowledge in the world. The world and all living beings have come into existence at His will. His will prevails.”

Mukherji (laughing): “Why does He will? Does He lack anything?”

Sri Ramakrishna (laughing): “What’s the harm in it? Water remains water whether it is still or in waves.”

Are the world and its living beings illusory?

“It is the same snake, whether it is coiled up and motionless or slithering along in an undulating manner.

“A gentleman remains the same individual whether he is working or sitting still.

“How can you leave out the world and the living beings? If you do that, it loses its full weight. A bel fruit weighs much less when its skin is peeled off and its seeds taken out.

“Brahman is free from attachment to anything. Air carries both good and bad smells, but it remains unaffected. Brahman and His Power are not separate from each other. The world and its creatures have been created by the same Primal Power.”

The way to attain samadhi: weep for God – path of love and path of meditation

Mukherji: “Why does one fall from yoga?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “There is a saying, ‘When I was in my mother’s womb, I was in union with God. Coming into the world, I have eaten its dirt. The midwife has cut the umbilical cord, but how am I to cut the cord of maya?

“‘Lust and greed’ is maya. One attains union with God when the mind is rid of these two. The Atman, the Supreme Soul, is the magnet. The embodied soul is like a needle. When the former pulls the latter, it results in union. But if the needle is covered with dirt, the magnet can’t pull it. When, however, the dirt is removed, it is drawn again. You have to clean yourself of the dirt of ‘lust and greed.’”

Mukherji: “How can we do this?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Weep for God with a longing heart. The water of your tears will wash off the dirt. And then the magnet can pull it. Only then will you attain union with God.”

Mukherji: “Oh, wonderful!”

Sri Ramakrishna: “When you can weep for God, He grants His vision. And you attain samadhi. Perfection in yoga is samadhi. When you weep, suspension of breath[6] occurs by itself. Samadhi comes after that.

“And then there is the practice of meditation. Shiva manifests especially in the Sahasrara. Meditate on Him. The body is like a saucer, and the mind and intellect are like water. In this water, the sun of Sat-chit-ananda is reflected. By meditating on that reflected sun, one has the revelation of the real sun through God’s grace.”

Associate with holy men and give the power of attorney to God

“People living in the world need the constant company of the holy. It is necessary for everyone. Even a sannyasin must associate with holy men. But with householders the disease is chronic. They have to live amidst ‘lust and greed’ all the time.”

Mukherji: “Yes, sir. Their disease is chronic.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Give your power of attorney to God. Let Him do what He likes. You just cry to Him longingly, like a kitten. Wherever a mother cat places her kitten is all right. Sometimes she places it on a bed, sometimes she takes it to the kitchen.”

A beginner studies the scriptures – spiritual practice leads to realization of God

Mukherji: “It is good to read the Gita and such holy books.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “How will it help to just read, or listen to holy books? Someone may have heard of milk, someone else have seen it, another may have drunk it. You can have the vision of God, you can even talk to Him.

“The first stage is that of a beginner. He studies and listens to the reading of scriptures. The next is that of the aspirant who calls on God, who meditates and thinks about Him and sings His Name and glories. Next, one becomes perfected[7] and knows God intuitively.[8] In the last stage one attains God’s vision and becomes the most perfect of the perfected.[9] This was the state of Chaitanya Deva. He was at times in the attitude of a mother toward her child[10] and at other times that of a beloved.”[11]

In amazement Mani, Rakhal, Jogin, Latu, and other devotees listen to this talk on the highest truth, rarely heard even by gods.

Now Mukherji and his friends take their leave. They salute and then stand up. Thakur also stands up out of respect for them.

Mukherji (smiling): “Why should you have to stand up or sit?”

Sri Ramakrishna (smiling): “What is the harm? Water is water whether it is still or moving. A leaf plate thrown away is carried wherever a wind storm carries it. I am the instrument, God is the operator.”

Chapter III

Sri Ramakrishna’s realization and the inner meaning of Vedanta – non-dualism and qualified non-dualism[12] – is the world an illusion? – identity of the Undifferentiated and the differentiated

Mukherji from Janai has left. Mani is reflecting that according to the philosophy of Vedanta everything is like a dream. Would it be true, then, that the embodied soul, the world, and oneself are illusory?

Mani has studied the Vedanta, and he has also read a little Hegel and other German scholars which are an indistinct echo of Vedanta. But Sri Ramakrishna does not reason like feeble human beings. The Mother of the Universe has revealed[13] everything to him. Mani thinks about this.

A little later Sri Ramakrishna talks to him alone on the western circular verandah. Before them the Ganges is flowing south with a gurgling sound. It is cold. The sun is still visible in the southeastern sky. He whose life is full of the Veda, whose words are the Vedas, he through whom God speaks, whose sweet words inspire the hearer to internalize the true import of the Veda, the Vedanta and the Bhagavata, this very person, an ocean of motiveless grace, is speaking as guru.

Mani: “Is the world illusory?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Why should it be an illusion? What you are talking about is only a matter of philosophical reasoning.

“In the very beginning when a person discriminates ‘Not this, not this,’ it is perceived that Brahman is not living beings, or the world, or the twenty-four cosmic principles – that all these are like a dream. Then comes reversal.[14] That is, one has gone up to the Absolute and now comes down to the phenomenal universe. Then the perception is that God Himself has become the universe and all living beings.

“You climb to the roof by the stairs. As long as you are conscious of the roof, you are aware of the stairs. The person who is aware of the high is also aware of the low.

“But after you have climbed to the roof, you see that the material of which the roof is made – bricks, lime, and brickdust – has also been used for making the stairs.

“It is like the bel fruit illustration that I have given.

“He to whom the Absolute (the Unchangeable) belongs is the same as He to whom the phenomenal (the ever-changing) universe belongs.

“‘I-ness’ simply does not go away. As long as there is the awareness that ‘I am a pot (the body),’ there are the individual soul and the universe. When one attains God, one realizes that God Himself has become the living beings and the universe. Just reasoning about this is of no help at all.

“Shiva has both states of mind. When immersed in samadhi, in mahayoga, he is absorbed in the joy of the Self.[15] When he comes down from this state, he retains a little ‘I-ness.’ Then he dances, chanting, ‘Rama, Rama.’”

Is Thakur alluding to his own state by describing the state of Shiva?

It is dusk. Thakur chants the names of the Mother of the Universe and meditates on Her. The devotees also go to solitary places to meditate on their ideals. Vesper services begin and arati is performed in Mother Kali’s Temple, in Sri Radhakanta’s temple, and in the twelve temples of Shiva.

Today is the second day of the dark fortnight. The moon appears at nightfall. Under its light, the temple spires, the surrounding trees and creepers, and the Ganges to the west of the temple gain a wonderous beauty. Sri Ramakrishna is sitting in his room. Mani is sitting on the floor. Thakur again discusses the question which Mani had raised earlier.

Visions of Consciousness everywhere – the treasurer writes a letter to Mathur

Sri Ramakrishna (to Mani): “Why should the world be an illusion? These words are only a matter of reasoning. After realizing God, you realize that He Himself has become the universe and its living beings.

“The Divine Mother showed me in the Kali Temple that it is She who has become everything. She showed me that everything is filled with divine consciousness – the image, the altar, the water vessels,[16] the door frame, the marble floor – all was divine consciousness.

“Whatever I saw in the room was filled with the essence[17] – the essence of Sat-chit-ananda.

“I saw a wicked man in front of the Kali Temple. But even within him I saw the splendour of Her Power.

“That is why I fed a cat luchis[18] that was to be offered to the Divine Mother. I saw that She had become everything – even the cat. The treasurer wrote a letter to Mathur Babu to tell him that the priest[19] was feeding a cat with the food to be offered to the deity. Mathur Babu knew the state I was in. He replied, ‘Let him do what he likes. Say nothing to him.’

“When you have attained God, you see correctly that He Himself has become the universe, living beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles.

“But what happens when God completely wipes out ‘I-consciousness’ cannot be described in words. As Ramprasad says in one of his songs, “Only You know whether You are good or I am good.” I sometimes get in this state too.

“When you reason, you see it one way. But when God reveals it to you, you see it in quite a different way.”

Chapter IV

The goal of life is God-realization – the way is intense love

The next day is Monday; it is eight o’clock. Thakur is seated in his room. Rakhal, Latu, and other devotees are also there. Doctor Madhu has arrived. He is sitting close to Thakur on his small cot. Doctor Madhu is a wise old man. He often comes to see Thakur when he is not feeling well. He is a very witty man.

Mani enters the room, salutes, and takes his seat.

Sri Ramakrishna (to Mani): “Love of Sat-chit-ananda is the main thing.”

Thakur’s vision of Sita – Gauri Pundit’s comments

“What is the intensity of this love? How can you develop love for God? Gauri used to say, ‘To understand Rama, you have to be like Sita. To understand Bhagavan, you have to be like Bhagavati (the Divine Mother). You will have to practice austerities – hard austerities – the way Bhagavati did for Shiva. To know Purusha (the Supreme Lord), you have to assume the attitude of Prakriti – the attitude of a friend, of a handmaid, or of a mother.’

“I had a vision of Sita. I saw that her whole mind was given to Rama. She was oblivious to anything else – body, hands, feet, clothes, jewelry, and so on. Her entire life was filled with thoughts of Rama. Without Rama, without having him, she felt she could not survive.”

Mani: “Yes, sir. Like a mad woman.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Lovelorn! Oh, you have to be mad for God to attain Him!

“This does not happen if the mind dwells on ‘lust and greed.’ What joy is there in intercourse with a woman? One feels ten million times that joy from a vision of God. Gauri used to say that in ecstatic love for God all the pores of the skin on the body become mahayoni, the great sexual organ. One feels the joy of union with the Atman in every pore.”

The Guru must be a perfect jnani

Sri Ramakrishna: “You must call on God with great yearning. You can hear from the lips of the guru how God can be realized.

“But only when the guru himself is a perfect man of knowledge can he show the way.

“Desires disappear when you attain perfect knowledge. You become like a child five years old. Both Dattatreya and Jadabharata had the nature of a child.”

Mani: “Yes, I know about them. But there have also been so many others.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “A man of knowledge is freed from all desires. Whatever little desire remains can do him no harm. When a sword touches the philosopher’s stone, it turns into gold. Then it can’t kill anyone. In the same way, the desire and anger of a man of knowledge are only superficial, they are just in name. They can do no harm.”

Mani: “Sir, just as you say, a man of knowledge is beyond the three gunas. He is not under the control of any of them – sattva, rajas, or tamas. These three are robbers.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “You must assimilate this truth.”

Mani: “It seems there are not many people of perfect knowledge on earth, perhaps no more than three or four.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Why do you say that? You see a number of sadhus and sannyasins in monasteries in western India.”

Mani: “Sir, I can also become a sannyasin like one of them.”

Hearing this, Sri Ramakrishna gazes fixedly at Mani for a few moments.

Sri Ramakrishna (to Mani): “By renouncing everything?”

Mani: “What can a person achieve without going beyond maya? If one is not able to subdue maya, what can mere sannyasa do?”

Everyone is silent for a few moments.

A devotee beyond the three gunas is like a child

Mani: “Sir, what is the love that is beyond the three gunas?”[20]

Sri Ramakrishna: “Having developed such devotion for God that a devotee sees everything permeated with divine consciousness: Krishna as consciousness, His abode as consciousness, the devotees as divine, everything permeated with consciousness. Only a very few devotees attain such love for God.”

Doctor Madhu (smiling): “It is the love beyond the three gunas – that is, the devotee is not subject to any of the gunas.”

Sri Ramakrishna (smiling): “Yes. Like a child five years old. He is not yet under the control of any guna.”

After the midday meal, Sri Ramakrishna takes a little rest. Manilal Mallick comes in, salutes him, and takes his seat on the floor. Mani is also sitting on the floor. Lying on the cot, Thakur exchanges a few words with Mani Mallick every now and then.

Mani Mallick: “Did you go to see Keshab Sen?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Yes. How is he now?”

Mani Mallick: “A little better.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “I found him to be very rajasic. I had to wait a long time before I could see him.”

Thakur now sits up on his bed and talks with the devotees.

Sri Ramakrishna’s life story in his own words – he is mad uttering, “Rama, Rama”

Sri Ramakrishna (to Mani): “I went mad repeating the name of Rama. I used to roam around with Ramlala, the deity the sannyasin gave me. I’d give him a bath, feed him, and put him to bed. Wherever I had to go, I would take him along. I was mad, repeating, ‘Ramlala, Ramlala.’”

Chapter V

Sri Ramakrishna at the foot of vilwa tree and under the panchavati

Sri Ramakrishna is talking with Mani near the vilwa tree. It is about nine o’clock.

It is Wednesday, 19 December 1883, the fifth day of the dark fortnight.

Under this same vilwa tree Thakur had practiced spiritual disciplines – a very solitary spot. To its north is the magazine and a wall. To the west willow trees rustle like a soul indifferent to the world. Nearby flows the Ganges. The panchavati can be seen to the south. There are so many trees and plants that the temples are barely visible.

Sri Ramakrishna (to Mani): “But nothing will help without renouncing ‘lust and greed.’”

Mani: “But why? Rishi Vasishtha said to Ramachandra, ‘Rama, you may renounce the world if the world is outside God.’”

Sri Ramakrishna (smiling a little): “That was because Ravana had to be killed. It was for this reason that Rama lived in the world and married.”

Mani stands, like a log of wood, speechless.

After saying this, Sri Ramakrishna goes toward the panchavati to reach his room.

Spiritual disciplines for formless God are very difficult

Sri Ramakrishna is talking with Mani at the foot of the panchavati. It is about ten o’clock.

Mani: “Sir, isn’t it possible to practice disciplines to attain the impersonal God?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Why is it not possible? But it is a very difficult path.[21] The rishis of olden days used to have the inner experience of God’s existence[22] by practicing a great many austerities. They would feel the reality of Brahman. But how hard was their labour? They would leave their huts early in the morning, practice austerities throughout the day, and return only at dusk. Then they would have a small meal of fruits and roots.

“This kind of spiritual practice [on the formless] is not possible until one is completely rid of worldliness. The mind has to be completely free from the sense of form, taste, smell, touch, and sound. Only then is it purified. That pure mind is the same as the pure Atman. It must be absolutely free from ‘lust and greed.’

“Then one has quite a different experience: ‘God indeed is the doer, I am a non-doer.’ One no longer thinks that without the ‘I’ one cannot carry on, whether in happiness or sorrow.

“A wicked fellow beat a sadhu of a monastery into unconsciousness. When he regained con-sciousness, he was asked who was offering him milk. He replied, ‘He who beat me is now feeding me.’”

Mani: “Yes, I know that story.”

Steady[23] samadhi and sudden[24] samadhi

Sri Ramakrishna: “No, it is not enough to just know. You have to internalize what it means.

“Worldly thoughts prevent the mind from entering into samadhi.

“One becomes steady in samadhi when one is completely free of worldly thoughts. It is possible for me to quit the body in steady samadhi, but I still have a little desire to enjoy the love of God and the company of devotees. So I keep my mind a little on the body.

“And then there is sudden samadhi, when the scattered mind is gathered suddenly. You under-stand this, don’t you?”

Mani: “Yes, sir.”

Sri Ramakrishna: “A scattered mind suddenly becomes withdrawn. This samadhi does not last long. Worldly thoughts intrude and end it. The yogi breaks from his union with God.

“In the village [Kamarpukur] a mongoose was living in a hole in the wall. As long as it was in the hole it felt comfortable. Someone tied a brick to its tail and it was forced to come out of its hole by the pull of the brick. Every time it tried to go back into the hole for peace, it was pulled out by the pull of the brick. Worldly thoughts divert the mind of the yogi from meditation.

“A man of the world can sometimes experience samadhi. A lotus opens at sunrise. But as soon as the sun is covered by clouds, it closes its petals again. Worldly thoughts are the clouds.”

Mani: “Can’t one develop both spiritual knowledge and love for God through spiritual disciplines?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “They can both be acquired through love for God. You get both. When it is needed, God Himself grants the knowledge of Brahman. Having a high spiritual ideal, a single receptacle can hold both knowledge and love of God.”

[3]. For the complete song refer to Volume III, Section IV, Chapter II.

[13]. Through transcendental perception, God-vision.

[14]. Consciousness has an eternal pulsation, outward and inward. Evolution is the outward movement of Consciousness, resulting in the manifestation of the universe; involution is the reversal or inward movement of Consciousness in which all names and forms dissolve back into the unity of the Absolute. M. says in his Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Part I: “You go backwards to the Supreme Being and your personality becomes lost in His personality. You then retrace your steps. You get back your ego (personality) and come back to the point where you started, only to see that the world and your ego or self were involved in the same Supreme Being.”

[21]. kleço 'dhikataras teñäm avyaktäsaktacetasäm |

avyaktä hi gatir duùkhaà dehavadbhir aväpyate || Bhagavad Gita 12:5