CHAPTER-6;PART-II:THE MASTER WITH THE BRAHMO DEVOTEES (I)
Wednesday, November 15, 1882
Master at the circus:
Sri
Ramakrishna, accompanied by Rakhal and several other devotees, came to Calcutta
in a carriage and called for M. at the school where he was teaching. Then
they all set out for the Maidan. Sri Ramakrishna wanted to see the Wilson
Circus. As the carriage rolled along the crowded Chitpore Road, his joy
was very great. Like a little child he leaned first out of one side of
the carriage and then out of the other, talking to himself as if addressing the
passers-by. To M. he said: "I find the attention of the people fixed
on earthly things. They are all rushing about for the sake of their
stomachs. No one is thinking of God."
They arrived at the circus. Tickets for the cheapest
seats were purchased. The devotees took the Master to a high gallery, and
they all sat on a bench. He said joyfully: "Ha! This is a good
place. I can see the show well from here." There were exhibitions of
various feats. A horse raced around a circular track over which large
iron rings were hung at intervals. The circus rider, an Englishwoman,
stood on one foot on the horse's back, and as the horse passed under the rings,
she jumped through them, always alighting on one foot on the horse's
back. The horse raced around the entire circle, and the woman never
missed the horse or lost her balance.
When the circus was over, the Master and the devotees stood
outside in the field, near the carriage. Since it was a cold night he
covered his body with his green shawl.
Necessity of spiritual
discipline
Sri
Ramakrishna said to M.: "Did you see how that Englishwoman stood on one
foot on her horse, while it ran like lightning? How difficult a feat that must
be! She must have practised a long time. The slightest carelessness and
she would break her arms or legs; she might even be killed. One faces the
same difficulty leading the life of a householder. A few succeed in it
through the grace of God and as a result of their spiritual practice. But
most people fail. Entering the world, they become more and more involved
in it; they drown in worldliness and suffer the agonies of death. A few
only, like Janaka, have succeeded, through the power of their austerity, in
leading the spiritual life as householders. Therefore spiritual practice
is extremely necessary; otherwise one cannot rightly live in the world."
The Master got into the carriage with the devotees and went
to Balaram Bose's house. He was taken with his companions to the second
floor. It was evening and the lamps were lighted. The Master
described the feats he had seen at the circus. Gradually other devotees
gathered, and soon he was engaged in spiritual talk with them.
Master on caste-system:
The
conversation turned to the caste-system. Sri Ramakrishna said: "The
caste-system can be removed by one means only, and that is the love of
God. Lovers of God do not belong to any caste. The mind, body, and
soul of a man become purified through divine love. Chaitanya and
Nityananda scattered the name of Hari to everyone, including the pariah, and
embraced them all. A brahmin without this love is no longer a
brahmin. And a pariah with the love of God is no longer a pariah.
Through bhakti an untouchable becomes pure and elevated."
Entanglement of
householders:
Speaking
of householders entangled in worldliness, the Master said: "They are like
the silk-worm. They can come out of the cocoon of their worldly life if
they wish. But they can't bear to; for they themselves have built the
cocoon with great love and care. So they die there. Or they are
like the fish in a trap. They can come out of it by the way they entered,
but they sport inside the trap with other fish and hear the sweet sound of the
murmuring water and forget everything else. They don't even make an
effort to free themselves from the trap. The lisping of children is the
murmur of the water; and the other fish are relatives and friends. Only
one or two make good their escape by running away. They are the liberated
souls."
The
Master then sang:
When such
delusion veils the world, through Mahamaya's spell,
That Brahma is bereft of sense,
And Vishnu loses consciousness,
What hope is left for men?
That Brahma is bereft of sense,
And Vishnu loses consciousness,
What hope is left for men?
The narrow channel first is made,
and there the trap is set;
But open though the passage lies,
The fish, once safely through the gate,
Do not come out again.
But open though the passage lies,
The fish, once safely through the gate,
Do not come out again.
The silk-worm patiently prepares its
closely spun cocoon;
Yet even though a way leads forth,
Encased within its own cocoon,
The worm remains to die.
Yet even though a way leads forth,
Encased within its own cocoon,
The worm remains to die.
The Master continued: "Man may be likened to
grain. He has fallen between the millstones and is about to be
crushed. Only the few grains that stay near the peg escape.
Therefore men should take refuge at the peg, that is to say, in God. Call
on Him. Sing His name. Then you will be free. Otherwise you
will be crushed by the King of Death."
The
Master sang again:
Mother!
Mother! My boat is sinking, here in the ocean of this world;
Fiercely the hurricane of delusion rages on every side!
Clumsy is my helmsman, the mind; stubborn my six oarsmen, the passions;
Into a pitiless wind
I sailed my boat, and now it is sinking!
Split is the rudder of devotion; tattered is the sail of faith;
Into my boat the waters are pouring! Tell me, what shall I do?
For with my failing eyes, alas! nothing but darkness do I see.
Here in the waves I will swim,
O Mother, and cling to the raft of Thy name!
Fiercely the hurricane of delusion rages on every side!
Clumsy is my helmsman, the mind; stubborn my six oarsmen, the passions;
Into a pitiless wind
I sailed my boat, and now it is sinking!
Split is the rudder of devotion; tattered is the sail of faith;
Into my boat the waters are pouring! Tell me, what shall I do?
For with my failing eyes, alas! nothing but darkness do I see.
Here in the waves I will swim,
O Mother, and cling to the raft of Thy name!
Mr. Viswas had been sitting in the room a long time;
he now left. He had once been wealthy but had squandered everything in an
immoral life. Finally he had become indifferent to his wife and
children. Referring to Mr. Viswas, the Master said: "He is an
unfortunate wretch. A householder has his duties to discharge, his debts
to pay: his debt to the gods, his debt to his ancestors, his debt to the
rishis, and his debt to wife and children. If a wife is chaste, then her
husband should support her; he should also bring up their children until they
are of age. Only a monk must not save; the bird and the monk do not
provide for the morrow. But even a bird provides when it has young.
It brings food in its bill for its chicks."
BALARAM: "Mr. Viswas now wants to cultivate the
company of holy people."
MASTER (with a smile): "A monk's kamandalu goes to the
four principal holy places with him, but it still tastes bitter.
Likewise, it is said that the Malaya breeze turns all trees into
sandal-wood. But there are a few exceptions, such as the cotton-tree, the
Aśwattha, and the hog plum.
"Some frequent the company of holy men in order to
smoke hemp. Many monks smoke it, and these householders stay with them,
prepare the hemp, and partake of the prasad."
SOURCE: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
