PONGAL

Thai Pongal (தை பொங்கல்) or Pongal (பொங்கல்) is a thanksgiving or harvest festival celebrated in South India at the end harvest season. It is one of the most important festivals celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry of India and also in Sri Lanka.

Pongal marks the beginning of the northward journey of the Sun from its southernmost-limit, a movement traditionally referred to as uttarayana. It coincides with the festival Makara Sankranthi celebrated throughout India as the winter harvest, and is usually held from January 13–16 in the Gregorian calendar i.e. from the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Thai. The second of the four days or the first day of month Thai is the main day of the festival which is known as Pongal or Thai Pongal. This also represents the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac i.e. Makar or Capricorn.

The word pongal itself refers to the "boiling over" of milk and rice during the month of Thai. The saying "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" meaning "the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities" is often quoted regarding the Pongal festival. Tamilian thank the Sun god (Surya) for the good harvest and consecrate the first grain to him on this 'Surya Mangalyam'. Tamilians decorate their homes with banana, sugarcane and mango leaves and embellish the floor with decorative patterns drawn using rice flour.

HISTORY:

The history may well be more than 1000 years old although some are of the view that the festival is older than that. Epigraphic Evidence suggests the celebration of the Puthiyeedu during the Medieval Chola empire days. It is thought that Puthiyeedudoodle meant the first harvest of the year. The link between that fast and today's harvest festival needs to be further researched. Tamils refer to Pongal as "Tamizhar Thirunaal" (meaning "the festival of Tamils") Makara Sankranti in turn is referred to in the Surya Siddhanta.

ETYMOLOGY:

Thai refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, Thai (தை). Pongal in Tamil generally refers to festivity; more specifically Pongal means "boiling over" or "spill over". The boiling over of milk in the new clay pot symbolizes material abundance for the household. Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils which is ritually consumed on this day. Symbolically, Pongal signifies the warming i.e. boiling of the season as the Sun travels northward towards the equinox.

MAKING OF PONGAL:

Besides rice and lentils, the ingredients of the sweet dish Pongal dish include cardamom, jaggery, raisins, and cashew nuts. Cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or courtyard, as the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. The cooking is done in a clay pot called kollam which is decorated with coloured patterns. There are two versions of pongal, one sweet the other salted. The prepared dish is served on banana leaves.

Apart from Pongal Day celebrations, cooking Pongal is a traditional practice at Hindu temples during any Temple Festival in Tamil Nadu. The community will convene to cook Pongal rice, partake of it and distribute it to those present.

DAY 1: BHOGI PANDIGAI / BHOGI PALLU / LOHRI :

The day preceding Pongal is called Bhogi when people discard old things and focus on new belongings. The disposal of derelict things is similar to Holika in North India. The people assemble at dawn in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to light a bonfire to discard old used possessions. The house is cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. In villages, the horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in colors and in most rural parts of Andhra Pradesh people celebrate it in a grand way as most of them would have their harvest ready or even would have made money out of the harvests.

REGIONAL VARIATIONS:

This tradition is observed on the same day in Andhra Pradesh where it is also called "Bhogi." The fruits from the harvest are collected (such as regi pallu and sugar cane), along with flowers of the season, in a ceremony called Bhogi Pallu Money is often placed into a mixture of Bhogi Pallu, and the mixture is poured over children, who then collect the money and sweet fruits.

This day is celebrated in Punjab as Lohri and in Assam as Magh Bihu / Bhogali Bihu.

The same day is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh - as Makara Sankranthi or Holi.

It is in Gujarat and Rajasthan celebrated as Uttarayana and Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab - celebrated as Lohri.

In Nepal it is celebrated as Maghe Sankranthi.

THAI PONGAL /PONGAL PANDIGAI:

Pongal itself falls on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai (January 14 or 15). It is celebrated by boiling rice with fresh milk and jaggery in new clay pots. The rice is later topped with sugar, ghee, cashew nuts and raisins. This tradition gives Pongal its name. The rice is traditionally cooked at sun rise.

The moment the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, the tradition is to shout of "Pongalo Pongal!", introduce freshly harvested rice grains in the pot and blow the sanggu (a conch). Tamils consider it a good sign to watch the milk boil over as it connotes good luck and prosperity. The newly cooked rice is traditionally offered to the Sun God at sunrise to demonstrate gratitude for the harvest. It is later served to the people present in the house for the ceremony. People prepare savories and sweets such as vadai, murukku, paayasam, visit each other and exchange greetings.

DAY 2: SURYA PONGAL:

The second day is dedicated to Lord Surya, the Sun God, who is offered boiled milk and jaggery. A plank is placed on the ground, a large image of the Sun God is sketched on it and Kolam designs are drawn around it. This icon of the Sun God is worshipped for divine benediction as the new month of 'Thai' begins.

Tamils draw kolams/rangolis on the door step, consume sugar cane, prepare sweetened rice, milk and jaggery in new earthen pots and dedicate it to Sun God. The family elders present gifts to the young. Elsewhere in India, there is kite flying in Gujarat and Andhra, the Jahangir Dance in Punjab and the Ganga Sagar Mela in Bengal. Millions of people immerse themselves in rivers in North India and offer prayers to the Sun God - Suryan. People offer thousands of their colorful oblations to the Sun in the form of beautiful kites.

The Sun stands for “Pratyaksha Brahman” - the manifest God, who symbolizes the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one and all tirelessly. The Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial wheel of time.

DAY 3: MATTU PONGAL/ CATTLE PLAY:

This third day is meant for the cattle ('mattu') - the giver of milk and puller of the plough. Mattu Pongal/ Cattle play an important role in the traditional Indian farmstead be it with regards to the provision of dairy products, its use for ploughing and transport and its provision of fertilizer. This explains the Tamil reference to cattle as wealth. On the day after Pongal, cattle are felicitated. In rural Tamil Nadu, adventurous games such as the Jallikkattu or taming the wild bull are features of the day. Maattu Pongal is intended to demonstrate our recognition and affection to cattle and decorate them with garlands, apply kungumam (kumkum) on their foreheads and are feed with a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits

Kanu Pidi is a tradition that the ladies and young girls of the house follow. Women feed birds and pray for the wellbeing of their brothers. Women of the family place different kinds of coloured rice, cooked vegetables, banana and sweet pongal on a ginger or turmeric leaf and invite the crows, which descend in hordes to share and enjoy the "Kaka pidi, Kanu pidi" feast. Women offer prayers in the hope that the brother-sister ties may remain forever strong like the family of crows.

Maatu pongal is a festival celebrated together by the villagers to thank the cows for their favour in farming . People bath their cattles and paint their horns with colourful paints. In the evening people offer prayings to Lord Ganesh made out of mud and all the cattles of the village are gathered together and are decorated with garland, manjalthanni (turmeric water)only for cows, oil, shikakai, kumkum is applied on the forehead and fed with a mixture of venn pongal, Jaggery, honey, fruits etc.At the people torch out of coconut leaves and burn with fire and run around cattles thrice and run to the border of the village and drop their,this ritual is performed to remove all Drishti.

DAY 4: KAANUM PONGAL:

Kaanum literally means ‘to see’ and is the fourth day of the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu. As the name indicates, Kaanum Pongal is essentially a day of relaxation and socializing and people either visit relatives or go out on a picnic.

The fourth and final day is also called the Kanya Pongal, when birds are worshipped. Girls prepare colored balls of cooked rice and keep them in the open for birds and fowls to eat. On this day sisters also pray for their brothers' happiness.

This is a time for family reunions in Tamil Nadu. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. Landlords present gifts of food, clothes and money to their workforce. During Kaanum Pongal (the word kaanum means "to view"), people visit relatives and friends to enjoy the festive season. In the cities this day is synonymous with people flocking to beaches and theme parks to have a day out with their families. They also chew sugar cane and decorate their houses with kolam. This day is a day to thank relatives and friends for their support in the harvest. Although it started as a farmer’s festival, today it has become a national festival for all Tamils irrespective of their origins or even religion. It is as popular in urban areas as is in rural areas.

One of the most important events on the day is the visit to the banks of Kaveri River. Many people pack their lunch and a have a picnic lunch on the riverbank. In many places special prayers are offered to Mother Kaveri.

In certain parts of rural Tamil Nadu, people use the opportunity provided by Kaanum Pongal to perform the ritual ‘Kummippatu’ or ‘kumi patu.’ This is a ritual performed for the speedy marriage of girls whose marriages are unduly delayed. The girl whose marriage is delayed is made to sit in the center of a circle formed by women dancing to the tune of ‘Kummi pattu.’

In Andhra Pradesh, Mukkanuma, the final day of Sankranthi festival, is celebrated to worship cattle. Mukkanuma is famous among the non-vegetarians of the society. People do not eat any non-vegetarian dishes during the first three days of the festival and eat it only on the day of Mukkanuma.

PONGAL TALES AND LEGENDS:

Like all Hindu festivals, Pongal too has some interesting legends attached to it. But surprisingly, this festival has little or no mention in the Puranas, which are usually bristled with tales and legends related with festivals. This is perhaps because Pongal is preeminently a Dravidian harvest festival and has somehow managed to keep itself away from the preponderance of Indo-Aryan influences.

The Mt. Govardhan Tale:

The most popular Pongal legend is the one associated with the first day of the celebrations when Lord Indra is worshipped. The story behind it is, on this day Indra being honored by all, became proud and arrogant. To teach him a lesson, Lord Krishna asked his cowherd friends to worship Mount Govardhan instead of Indra on the Bhogi Pongal day.

Awfully infuriated, Indra sent forth the clouds to generate thunder, lightning and heavy rains and flood the land. But, as the tale goes, Lord Krishna lifted up the Govardhan Mountain on his little finger and sheltered the farmers, cowherd and their cattle. Indra then begged Shri Krishna's forgiveness and the latter re-permitted Bhogi celebrations in honor of Indra.

The Nandi Bull Story:

According to another legend associated with Mattu Pongal, the third day of celebrations, Lord Shiva once asked his Nandi bull to go to earth and deliver a special message to his disciples: "Have an oil bath every day, and food once a month."

But the baffled bovine failed to deliver the correct message. He told the people that Shiva asked them to "have an oil bath once a month, and food every day." The enraged Shiva then ordered Nandi to stay back on earth and help the people plough the fields, since they would now need to grow more grains.

COURTESY: en.wikipedia.org; hinduism.about.com ; hindu-blog.com

HANUMAN JAYANTHI

Hanuman

Hanuman Jayanti or Hanumath Jayanti is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Hanuman, the Vanara god and is considered as an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He is widely venerated throughout India.

Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama, and is worshipped for his unflinching devotion to the god. From early morning, devotees flock Hanuman temples to worship him.

Hanuman Jayanti is an important festival of Hindus. Hanuman is the symbol of strength and energy. Hanuman is said to be able to assume any form at will, wield rocks, move mountains, dart through the air, seize the clouds and rival Garuda in swiftness of flight. He is worshipped in folk tradition as a deity with magical powers and the ability to conquer evil spirits. The devotees visit temples and apply tilaka of sindhūr to their foreheads from Hanuman's idol as Hanuman himself was of that color. A few thousand years before Ramayan time (in the latter part of Tretayuga - 2 million years ago), several divine souls came to Earth and modified the bodies of ape like creatures through evolutionary methods (genetic mutation) so that the animals could play the role of vehicles for these divine souls. That's how Vanara race with reddish orange color (hues of deep orange and light red) was established before the Ramayan time. Hanuman was born in to this Vanara community and was in reddish orange color. So in all the Hanuman temples we see Hanuman colored in different hues of reddish orange color.

Devotees observe Hanumath Jayanthi during different time of the year according to their regional beliefs and the type of calendar being followed.

In Tamil Nadu Hanumath Jayanthi is observed during Margashirsha Amavasya. Most of the time, Margashirsha Amavasya coincides with Moolam Nakshatram. It is believed that God Hanumath was born during Margashirsha Amavasya when Moolam Nakshatram was prevailing. In years when Moolam Nakshatra doesn't coincide with Amavasya, Amavasya day is preferred to decide Hanumath Jayanthi day. In Gregorian calendar Tamil Hanumath Jayanthi falls in January or December.

.In North Indian states, Hanumath Jayanthi is known as Hanuman Jayanti and it is observed on full moon day during Chaitra month.

In Andhra, Hanuman Jayanthi is celebrated for 41-days which starts on Chaitra Purnima and ends on the tenth day during Krishna Paksha in Vaishakha month. In Andhra Pradesh devotees begin 41-days Deeksha on Chaitra Purnima and conclude it on Hanuman Jayanthi day. 

In Orissa, the Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on the first day of Baisakha month as per Oriya calendar (normally comes on April 14 or 15). There it is also celebrated as New Year for all Oriyas (i.e. Maha Vishuva Sankranti).

COURTESY: en.wikipedia.org; drikpanchang.com

PARABLE: SUCH INDEED IS MAYA!

Narada

Once Narada besought the Lord of the universe, "Lord, show me that Maya of Thine which can make the impossible possible." The Lord nodded assent. Subsequently the Lord one day set out on a travel with Narada. After going some distance, He felt very thirsty and fatigued. So He sat down and told Narada, "Narada, I feel much thirsty; please get me a little water from somewhere."   Narada at once ran in search of water.

Finding no water nearby, he went far from the place and saw a river at a great distance. When he approached the river, he saw a most charming young lady sitting there, and was at once captivated by her beauty.   As soon as Narada went near her, she began to address him in sweet words, and ere long, both fell in love with each other. Narada then married her, and settled down as a householder. In course of time he had a number of children by her. And while he was thus living happily with his wife and  children,  there  came  a  pestilence  in  the country. Death began to collect its toll from every place. Then Narada proposed to abandon the place and go somewhere else. His wife acceded to it, and they both came out of their house leading their children by the hand. But no sooner did they come to the bridge to cross the river than there came a terrible flood, and in the rush of water, all their children were swept away one after another, and at last the wife too was drowned. Overwhelmed with grief at his bereavement, Narada sat down on the bank and began to weep piteously. Just then the Lord appeared before him, saying, "O Narada, where is the water? And why are you weeping?" The sight of the Lord startled the sage, and then he understood everything. He exclaimed, "Lord, my obeisance to Thee, and my obeisance also to Thy wonderful Maya!" 

SOURCE: The Parables of Sri Ramakrishna

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Best Wishes and Prayer to all Visitors 

birth of Jesus:

The birth of Jesus was announced in Luke 2:11, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Moreover, the belief that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas.

Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary as a fulfillment of the Old Testament's Messianic prophecy. The Bible contains two accounts which describe the events surrounding Jesus' birth. Depending on one's perspective, these accounts either differ from each other or tell two versions of the same story. These biblical accounts are found in the Gospel of Matthew, and the Gospel of Luke. According to these accounts, Jesus was born to Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem.

According to popular tradition, the birth took place in a stable, surrounded by farm animals. A manger (that is, a feeding trough) is mentioned in Luke 2:7, where it states Mary "wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (KJV); and "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them" (NIV).

Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child. Popular tradition also holds that three kings or wise men viz. Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar visited the infant Jesus in the manger, though this does not strictly follow the Biblical account. The Gospel of Matthew instead describes a visit by an unspecified number of magi, or astrologers, sometime after Jesus was born while the family was living in a house (Matthew 2:11), who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the young child Jesus. The visitors were said to be following a mysterious star, commonly known as the Star of Bethlehem, believing it to announce the birth of a king of the Jews.

Celebrations:

In the earliest centuries of Christianity, no particular day of the year is known to have been associated with the birth of Jesus. Various dates were speculated: May 20, April 18 or 19, March 25, January 2, November 17 or 20. When celebration on a particular date began, January 6 prevailed at least in the East;] but, except among Armenians (the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church), who continue to celebrate the birth on January 6.

The New Testament Gospel of Luke may indirectly give the date as December for the birth of Jesus, with the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist cited by John Chrysostom(c. 386) as a date for the Annunciation. In Chronographai, a reference work published in 221, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox. The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December.

Sextus Julius Africanus was the first to identify December 25, later to become the universally accepted date, as the date Jesus's birth in 221.

COURTESY: en.wikipedia.org

THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA

Chapter 5; PART-IV THE MASTER AND KESHAB

 

Master's humility

Keshab Chandra Sen

"Do you know my attitude? As for myself, I eat, drink, and live happily.  The rest the Divine Mother knows.  Indeed, there are three words that prick my flesh: 'guru', 'master', and 'father'. 

"There is only one Guru, and that is Satchidananda.  He alone is the Teacher.  My attitude toward God is that of a child toward its mother.  One can get human gurus by the million.  All want to be teachers.  But who cares to be a disciple?

Difficulty of preaching:

"It is extremely difficult to teach others.  A man can teach only if God reveals Himself to him and gives the command.  Narada, Sukadeva, and sages like them had such a command from God, and Sankara had it too.  Unless you have a command from God, who will listen to your words?

"Don't you know how easily the people of Calcutta get excited? The milk in the kettle puffs up and boils as long as the fire burns underneath.  Take away the fuel and all becomes quiet.  The people of Calcutta love sensations.  You may see them digging a well at a certain place.  They say they want water.  But if they strike a stone they give up that place; they begin at another place.  And there, perchance, they find sand; they give up the second place too.  Next they begin at a third.  And so it goes.  But it won't do if a man only imagines that he has God's command. 

"God does reveal Himself to man and speak.  Only then may one receive His command.  How forceful are the words of such a teacher! They can move mountains.  But mere lectures? People will listen to them for a few days and then forget them.  They will never act upon mere words. 

"At Kamarpukur there is a small lake called the Haldarpukur.  Certain people used to befoul its banks every day.  Others who came there in the morning to bathe would abuse the offenders loudly.  But next morning they would find the same thing.  The nuisance didn't stop.  (All laugh.) The villagers finally informed the authorities about it.  A constable was sent, who put up a notice on the bank which read: 'Commit no nuisance.' This stopped the miscreants at once.  (All laugh.)

"To teach others, one must have a badge of authority; otherwise teaching becomes a mockery.  A man who is himself ignorant starts out to teach others-like the blind leading the blind! Instead of doing good, such teaching does harm.  After the realization of God one obtains an inner vision.  Only then can one diagnose a person's spiritual malady and give instruction. 

"Without the commission from God, a man becomes vain.  He says to himself, 'I am teaching people.' This vanity comes from ignorance, for only an ignorant person feels that he is the doer.  A man verily becomes liberated in life if he feels: 'God is the Doer.  He alone is doing everything.  I am doing nothing.'   Man's sufferings and worries spring only from his persistent thought that he is the doer. 

Doing good to others:

"You people speak of doing good to the world.  Is the world such a small thing? And who are you, pray, to do good to the world? First realize God, see Him by means of spiritual discipline.  If He imparts power, then you can do good to others; otherwise not."

A BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "Then, sir, we must give up our activities until we realize God?"

MASTER: "No.  Why should you? You must engage in such activities as contemplation, singing His praises, and other daily devotions."

BRAHMO: "But what about our worldly duties-duties associated with our earning money, and so on?"

MASTER: "Yes, you can perform them too, but only as much as you need for your livelihood.  At the same time, you must pray to God in solitude, with tears in your eyes, that you may be able to perform those duties in an unselfish manner.  You should say to Him: 'O God, make my worldly duties fewer and fewer; otherwise, O Lord, I find that I forget Thee when I am involved in too many activities.  I may think I am doing unselfish work, but it turns out to be selfish.' People who carry to excess the giving of alms, or the distributing of food among the poor, fall victims to the desire of acquiring name and fame. 

Sambhu Charan Mallick

"Sambhu Charan Mallick once talked about establishing hospitals, dispensaries, and schools, making roads, digging public reservoirs, and so forth.  I said to him: 'Don't go out of your way to look for such works.  Undertake only those works that present themselves to you and are of pressing necessity-and those also in a spirit of detachment.' It is not good to become involved in many activities.  That makes one forget God.  Coming to the Kalighat temple, some, perhaps, spend their whole time in giving alms to the poor.  They have no time to see the Mother in the inner shrine! (Laughter.) First of all manage somehow to see the image of the Divine Mother, oven by pushing through the crowd.  Then you may or may not give alms, as you wish.  You may give to the poor to your heart's content, if you feel that way.  Work is only a means to the realization of God.  Therefore I said to Sambhu, 'Suppose God appears before you; then will you ask Him to build hospitals and dispensaries for you?' (Laughter.) A lover of God never says that.  He will rather say: 'O Lord, give me a place at Thy Lotus Feet.  Keep me always in Thy company.  Give me sincere and pure love for Thee.'

Path of devotion most elective for Kaliyuga:

"Karmayoga is very hard indeed.  In the Kaliyuga it is extremely difficult to perform the rites enjoined in the scriptures.  Nowadays man's life is centred on food alone.  He cannot perform many scriptural rites.  Suppose a man is laid up with fever.  If you attempt a slow cure with the old-fashioned indigenous remedies, before long his life may be snuffed out.  He can't stand much delay.  Nowadays the drastic 'D Gupta' mixture is appropriate.  In the Kaliyuga the best way is bhaktiyoga, the path of devotion-singing the praises of the Lord, and prayer.  The path of devotion alone is the religion for this age.  (To the Brahmo devotees) Yours also is the path of devotion.  Blessed you are indeed that you chant the name of Hari and sing the Divine Mother's glories.  I like your attitude.  You don't call the world a dream like the non-dualists.  You are not Brahmajnanis like them; you are bhaktas, lovers of God.  That you speak of Him as a Person is also good.  You are devotees.  You will certainly realize Him if you call on Him with sincerity and earnestness."

The boat cast anchor at Kayalaghat and the passengers prepared to disembark.  On coming outside they noticed that the full moon was up.  The trees, the buildings, and the boats on the Ganges were bathed in its mellow light.  A carriage was hailed for the Master, and M. and a few devotees got in with him.  The Master asked for Keshab.  Presently the latter arrived and inquired about the arrangements made for the Master's return to Dakshineswar.  Then he bowed low and took leave of Sri Ramakrishna. 

The carriage drove through the European quarter of the city.  The Master enjoyed the sight of the beautiful mansions on both sides of the well lighted streets.  Suddenly he said: "I am thirsty.  What's to be done?" Nandalal, Keshab's nephew, stopped the carriage before the India Club and went upstairs to get some water.  The Master inquired whether the glass had been well washed.  On being assured that it had been, he drank the water. 

As the carriage went along, the Master put his head out of the window and looked with childlike enjoyment, at the people, the vehicles, the horses, and the streets, all flooded with moonlight.  Now and then he heard European ladies singing at the piano.  He was in a very happy mood. 

Surendranath Mitra

The carriage arrived at the house of Suresh Mitra, who was a great devotee of the Master and whom he addressed affectionately as Surendra.  He was not at home.

The members of the household opened a room on the ground floor for the Master and his party.  The cab fare was to be paid.  Surendra would have taken care of it had he been there.  The Master said to a devotee: "Why don't you ask the ladies to pay the fare? They certainly know that their master visits us at Dakshineswar.  I am not a stranger to them."(All laugh.)

Narendra, who lived in that quarter of the city, was sent for.  In the mean time Sri Ramakrishna and the devotees were invited to the drawing-room upstairs.  The floor of the room was covered with a carpet and a white sheet.  A few cushions were lying about.  On the wall hung an oil painting especially painted for Surendra, in which Sri Ramakrishna was pointing out to Keshab the harmony of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions.  On seeing the picture Keshab had once said, "Blessed is the man who conceived the idea."

Sri Ramakrishna was talking joyously with the devotees, when Narendra arrived.  This made the Master doubly happy.  He said to his young disciple, "We had a boat trip with Keshab today.  Vijay and many other Brahmo devotees were there.  (Pointing to M.) Ask him what I said to Keshab and Vijay about the mother and daughter observing their religious fast on Tuesdays, each on her own account, though the welfare of the one meant the welfare of the other.  I also said to Keshab that trouble-makers like jatila and Kutila were necessary to lend zest to the play.  (To M.) Isn't that so?"

M: "Yes, sir.  Quite so."

It was late.  Surendra had not yet returned.  The Master had to leave for the temple garden, and a cab was brought for him.  M. and Narendra saluted him and took their leave.  Sri Ramakrishna's carriage started for Dakshineswar through the moonlit streets.

SOURCE: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna