THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA

CHAPTER-III; PART-III

Different manifestations of God's power:

"Just see how picturesque this universe is! How many things there are! The sun, moon, and stars; and how many varieties of living beings! - big and small, good and bad, strong and weak - some endowed with more power some with less."

VIDYASAGAR: "Has He endowed some with more power and others with less?"

MASTER: "As the All-pervading Spirit He exists in all beings, even in the ant.  But the manifestations of His Power are different in different beings;  otherwise, how can one person put ten to flight, while another can't face even one? And why do all people respect you? Have you grown a pair horns? (Laughter.) You have more compassion and learning.  Therefore people honour you and come to pay you their respects.  Don't you agree with me?"

Vidyasagar smiled. 

The Master continued: "There is nothing in mere scholarship.  The object of study is to find means of knowing God and realizing Him.  A holy man had a book.  When asked what it contained, he opened it and showed that on all the pages were written the words 'Om Rama', and nothing else. 

"What is the significance of the Gita? It is what you find by repeating the word ten times.  It is then reversed into 'tagi', which means a person who has renounced everything for God.  And the lesson of.  the Gita is: 'O man, renounce everything and seek God alone.' Whether a man is a monk or a householder, he has to shake off all attachment from his mind. 

"Chaitanyadeva set out on a pilgrimage to southern India.  One day he saw a man reading the Gita.  Another man, seated at a distance, was listening and weeping.  His eyes were swimming in tears.  Chaitanyadeva asked him, 'Do you understand all this?' The man said, 'No, revered sir, I don't understand a word of the text.' 'Then why are you crying?' asked Chaitanya.  The devotee said: 'I see Arjuna's chariot before me.  I see Lord Krishna and Arjuna seated in front of it, talking.  I see this and I weep.'

"Why does a vijnāni keep an attitude of love toward God? The answer is that 'I-consciousness' persists.  It disappears in the state of samādhi, no doubt, but it comes back.  In the case of ordinary people the 'I' never disappears.  You may cut down the Aśwattha tree, but the next day sprouts shoot up.  (All laugh.)

Ego causes our sufferings:

"Even after the attainment of Knowledge this 'I-consciousness' comes up, nobody knows from where.  You dream of a tiger.  Then you awake; but your heart keeps on palpitating! All our suffering is due to this 'I'.  The cow cries, 'Hamba!', which means 'I'.  That is why it suffers so much.  It is yoked to the plough and made to work in rain and sun.  Then it may be killed by the butcher.  From its hide shoes are made, and also drums, which are mercilessly, beaten.  (Laughter.) Still it does not escape suffering.  At last strings are made out of its entrails for the bows used in carding cotton.  Then it no longer says, 'Hamba! Hamba!', 'I! I!'   but 'Tuhu! Tuhu!', 'Thou! Thou!'.  Only then are its troubles over.  O Lord, I am the servant; Thou art the Master.  I am the child; Thou art the Mother.  

"Once Rama asked Hanuman, 'How do you look on Me?' And Hanuman replied: 'O Rama, as long as I have the feeling of "I", I see that Thou art the whole and I am a part; Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant.  But when, O Rama, I have the knowledge of Truth, then I realize that Thou art I and I am Thou.'

"The relationship of master and servant is the proper one.  Since this 'I' must remain, let the rascal be God's servant. 

Evil of "I" and "mine":

" 'I' and 'mine' - these constitute ignorance.  'My house', 'my wealth', 'my learning', 'my possessions' - the attitude that prompts one to say such things comes of ignorance.  On the contrary, the attitude born of Knowledge is: 'O God, Thou art the Master, and all these things belong to Thee.  House, family, children, attendants, friends, are Thine.'

"One should constantly remember death.  Nothing will survive death.  We are born into this world to perform certain duties, like the people who come from the countryside to Calcutta on business.  If a visitor goes to a rich man's garden, the superintendent says to him, 'This is our garden', 'This is our lake', and so forth.  But if the Superintendent is dismissed for some misdeed, he can't carry away even his mango-wood chest.  He sends it secretly by the gate-keeper.  (Laughter.)

"God laughs on two occasions.  He laughs when the physician says to the patient's mother, 'Don't be afraid, mother; I shall certainly cure your boy.' God laughs, saying to Himself, 'I am going to take his life, and this man says he will save it!' The physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that God is the Master.  God laughs again when two brothers divide their land with a string, saying to each other, 'This side is mine and that side is your'.  He laughs and says to Himself, 'The whole universe belongs to Me, but they say they own this portion or that portion.'

"Can one know God through reasoning? Be His servant, surrender yourself to Him, and then pray to Him.

(To Vidyasagar, with a smile) "Well, what is your attitude?"

VIDYASAGAR (smiling): "Some day I shall confide it to you."(All laugh)

MASTER (laughing): "God cannot be realized through mere scholarly reasoning."

Intoxicated with divine love, the Master sang:

Who is there that can understand what Mother Kāli is?

Even the six darsanas are powerless to reveal Her. 

It is She, the scriptures say, that is the Inner Self 

Of the yogi, who in Self discovers all his joy; 

She that, of Her own sweet will, inhabits every living thing. 

The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the Mother's womb; 

Now do you see how vast it is? In the Muladhara 

The yogi meditates on Her, and in the Sahasrara:

Who but Śiva has beheld Her as She really is? 

Within the lotus wilderness She sports beside Her Mate, the Swan.

When man aspires to understand Her, Ramprasad must smile;

To think of knowing Her, he says, is quite as laughable

As to imagine one can swim across the boundless sea.

But while my mind has understood, alas! my heart has not;

Though but a dwarf, it still would strive to make a captive of the moon. 

 Continuing, the Master said: "Did you notice?

The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the Mother's womb;

Now do you see how vast it is?

Again, the poet says: 

Even the six darsanas are powerless to reveal Her. She cannot be realized by means of mere scholarship. 

Power of faith:

"One must have faith and love.  Let me tell you how powerful faith is.  A man was about to cross the sea from Ceylon to India.  Bibhishana said to him: 'Tie this thing in a corner of your wearing-cloth, and you will cross the sea safely.  You will be able to walk on the water.  But be sure not to examine it, or you will sink.' The man was walking easily on the water of the sea - such is the strength of faith - when, having gone part of the way, he thought, 'What is this wonderful thing Bibhishana has given me, that I can walk even on the water?' He untied the knot and found only a leaf with the name of Rama written on it.  'Oh, just this!' he thought, and instantly he sank. 

"There is a popular saying that Hanuman jumped over the sea through his

 faith in Rama's name, but Rama himself had to build a bridge.

"If a man has faith in God, then He need not be afraid though he may have

committed sin - nay, the vilest sin."

SOURCE: THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA

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