Law of Karma

August 19, 1883

IT WAS SUNDAY, the first day after the full moon. Sri Ramakrishna was resting after his noon meal. The midday offering had been made in the temples, and the temple doors were closed.

In the early afternoon the Master sat up on the small couch in his room. M. prostrated himself before him and sat on the floor. The Master was talking to him on the philosophy of Vedānta.

Householders and Non-dualism

MASTER (to M.): “Self-Knowledge is discussed in the Ashtāvakra Samhitā. The non-dualists say, ‘Soham’, that is, ‘I am the Supreme Self.’ This is the view of the sannyasis of the Vedantic school. But this is not the right attitude for householders, who are conscious of doing everything themselves. That being so, how can they declare, ‘I am

That, the actionless Supreme Self’? According to the non-dualists the Self is unattached. Good and bad, virtue and vice, and the other pairs of opposites, cannot in any way injure the Self, though they undoubtedly afflict those who have identified themselves with their bodies. Smoke soils the wall, certainly, but it cannot in any way affect Ākāśa, space. Following the Vedantists of this class, Krishnakishore used to say, ‘I am Kha’, meaning Ākāśa. Being a great devotee, he could say that with some justification; but it is not becoming for others to do so.

“But to feel that one is a free soul is very good. By constantly repeating, ‘I am free, I am free’, a man verily becomes free. On the other hand, by constantly repeating, ‘I am bound, I am bound’, he certainly becomes bound to worldliness. The fool who says only, ‘I am a sinner, I am a sinner’, verily drowns himself in worldliness. One should rather say: I have chanted the name of God. How can I be a sinner? How can I be bound?’

(To M.) “You see, I am very much depressed today. Hriday has written me that he is very ill. Why should I feel dejected about it? Is it because of maya or daya?” M. could not find suitable words for a reply, and remained silent.

Maya and compassion

MASTER: “Do you know what maya is? It is attachment to relatives-parents, brother and sister, wife and children, nephew and niece. Daya means love for all created beings. Now what is this, my feeling about Hriday? Is it maya or daya? But Hriday did so much for me: he served me whole-heartedly and nursed me when I was ill. But later he tormented me also. The torment became so unbearable that once I was about to commit suicide by jumping into the Ganges from the top of the embankment.

But he did 303much to serve me. Now my mind will be at rest if he gets some money. But whom shall I ask for it? Who likes to speak about such things to our rich visitors?”

At two or three o’clock in the afternoon Adhar Sen and Balarām arrived. After saluting Sri Ramakrishna, they sat on the floor and asked him if he was well.

The Master said, “Yes, I am well physically, but a little troubled in mind.” He did not refer to Hriday and his troubles. The conversation turned to the Goddess Simhavahini.

MASTER: “Yes, I visited the Goddess. She is worshipped by one of the branches of the Mallick family of Calcutta. This branch of the family is now in straitened circumstances, and the house they live in is dilapidated. The walls and floor are spotted with moss and pigeon-droppings, and the cement and plaster are crumbling. But other branches of the Mallick family are well off. This branch has no signs of prosperity. (To M.) Well, what does that signify?”

M. remained silent.

MASTER: “The thing is that everyone must reap the result of his past-karma. One must admit the influence of tendencies inherited from past births and the result of the prarabdha karma. Nevertheless, in that dilapidated house I saw the face of the Goddess radiating a divine light. One must believe in the Divine Presence in the image.

“Once I went to Vishnupur. The raja of that place has several fine temples. In one of them there is an image of the Divine Mother, called Mrinmayi. There are several lakes near the temple, known as the Lalbandh, Krishnabandh, and so on. In the water of one of the lakes I could smell the ointments that women use for their hair. How do you explain that? I didn’t know at that time that the woman devotees offer ointments to the Goddess Mrinmayi while visiting Her temple. Near the lake I went into samādhi, though

I had not yet seen the image in the temple. In that state I saw the divine form from the waist up, rising from the water.”

In the mean time other devotees had arrived. Someone referred to the political revolution and civil war in Kabul. A devotee said that Yakub Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, had been deposed. He told the Master that the Amir was a great devotee of God.

Pleasure and pain are characteristics of physical life

MASTER: “But you must remember that pleasure and pain are the characteristics of the embodied state. In Kavi Kankan’s Chandi it is written that Kaluvir was sent to prison and a heavy stone placed on his chest. Yet Kalu was born as a result of a boon from the Divine Mother of the Universe. Thus pleasure and pain are inevitable when the soul accepts a body. Again, take the case of Srimanta, who was a great devotee. Though his mother, Khullana, was very much devoted to the Divine Mother, there was no end to his troubles. He was almost beheaded. There is also the instance of the wood-cutter who was a great lover of the Divine Mother.

She appeared before him and showed him much grace and love; but he had to continue his profession of wood-cutting and earn his livelihood by that arduous work. Again, while Devaki, Krishna’s mother, was in prison, she had a vision of God Himself endowed with four hands, holding mace, discus, conch-shell, and lotus. But with all that she couldn’t get out of prison.”

M: “Why speak only of getting out of prison? This body is the source of all our troubles. Devaki should have been freed from the body.”

Law of karma

MASTER: “The truth is that one must reap the result of the prarabdha karma. The body remains as long as the results of past actions do not completely wear away. Once a blind man bathed in the Ganges and as a result was freed from his sins. But his blindness remained all the same.

(All laugh.)

It was because of his evil deeds in his past birth that he had to undergo that affliction.”

M: “Yes,sir. The arrow that has already left the bow is beyond our control.”

MASTER: “However much a bhakta may experience physical joy and sorrow, he always has knowledge and the treasure of divine love. This treasure never leaves him. Take the Pandava brothers for instance. Though they suffered so many calamities, they did not lose their God-Consciousness even once. Where can you find men like them, endowed with so much knowledge and devotion?”

Just then Narendra and Colonel Viswanath Upadhyaya entered the room. Narendra was then twenty-two years old and studying in college. They saluted the Master and sat down. The Master requested Narendra to sing. The Tānpura hung on the west wall of the room. The devotees fixed their eyes on Narendra as he began to tune the drums.

MASTER (to Narendra): “The drums don’t sound as well as before.”

CAPTAIN: “They are now full. Therefore they are quiet, like a vessel filled with water. Or they are like a holy man, who remains silent when his heart is full of God- Consciousness.”

MASTER: “But what about sages like Nārada?”

CAPTAIN: “They talked because they were moved by the sufferings of others.”

MASTER: “You are right. After attaining samādhi, Nārada, Sukadeva, and others came down a few steps, as it were, to the plane of normal consciousness and broke their silence out of compassion for the sufferings of others and to help them.”

Narendra began to sing: Oh, when will dawn for me that day of blessedness When He who is all Good, all Beauty, and all Truth, Will light the inmost shrine of my heart?

When shall I sink at last, ever beholding Him, Into that Ocean of Delight? . . .

No sooner had the Master heard a few words of the song than he went into samādhi. He sat with folded hands, facing the east. His body was erect and his completely bereft of worldly consciousness. His breath had almost stopped. unwinking eyes he sat motionless as a picture on a canvas. His mind had dived into the Ocean of God’s Beauty.

Narendra left the room and went to the east verandah, where Hazra was seated on a blanket, with a rosary in his hand. They fell to talking. Other devotees arrived. The Master came down from samādhi and looked around. He could not find Narendra. The Tānpura was lying on the floor. He noticed that the earnest eyes of the devotees were riveted on him.

MASTER (referring to Narendra): “He has lighted the fire. whether he stays in the room or goes out.

(To Captain and the other devotees) “Attribute to yourselves the bliss of God- Consciousness; then you too will experience ineffable joy. The bliss of God- Consciousness always exists in you. It is only hidden by the veiling and projecting power of maya. The less you are attached to the world, the more you love God.”

CAPTAIN: “The farther you proceed toward your home in Calcutta, the farther you leave Benares behind. Again, the farther you proceed toward Benares, the farther behind you leave your home.”

MASTER: “As Radha advanced toward Krishna, she could smell more and more of the sweet fragrance of His body. The nearer you approach to God, the more you feel His love. As the river approaches the ocean it increasingly feels the flow of the tides.