Ideals of Jnāni and bhakta

“The Jnāni experiences God-Consciousness within himself; it is like the upper Ganges, flowing in only one direction. To him the whole universe is illusory, like a dream; he is always established in the Reality of Self. But with the lover of God the case is different.

His feeling does not flow in only one direction. He feels both the ebb-tide and the flood-tide of divine emotion. He laughs and weeps and dances and sings in the ecstasy of God. The lover of God likes to sport with Him. In the Ocean of God-Consciousness he sometimes swims, sometimes goes down, and sometimes rises to the surface-like pieces of ice in the water. (Laughter.)

Brahman and Śakti are not different “The Jnāni seeks to realize Brahman. But the ideal of the bhakta is the Personal God-a God endowed with omnipotence and with the six treasures. Yet Brahman and Śakti are, in fact, not different. That which is the Blissful Mother is, again, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.

They are like the gem and its lustre. When one speaks of the lustre of the gem, one thinks of the gem; and again, when one speaks of the gem, one refers to its lustre. One cannot conceive of the lustre of the gem without thinking of the gem, and one cannot conceive of the gem without thinking of its lustre.

“Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute is one, and one only. But It is associated with different limiting adjuncts on account of the different degrees of Its manifestation. That is why one finds various forms of God. The devotee sings, ‘O my Divine Mother, Thou art all these!’ Wherever you see actions, like creation, preservation, and dissolution, there is the manifestation of Śakti. Water is water whether it is calm or full of waves and bubbles. The Absolute alone is the Primordial Energy, which creates, preserves, and destroys. Thus it is the same ‘Captain’, whether he remains inactive or performs his worship or pays a visit to the Governor General. Only we designate him by different names at different times.”

CAPTAIN: “Yes, sir, that is so.”

MASTER: “I said those words to Keshab Sen.”

CAPTAIN: “Keshab is not an orthodox Hindu. He adopts manners and customs according to his own whim. He is a well-to-do gentleman and not a holy man.”

MASTER (to the other devotees): “Captain forbids me to go to see Keshab.”

CAPTAIN: “But, sir, you act as you will. What can I do?”

MASTER (sharply): “Why shouldn’t I go to see Keshab? You feel at ease when you go to the Governor General’s house, and for money at that. Keshab thinks of God and chants His name. Isn’t it you who are always saying that God Himself has become the universe and all its living beings? Doesn’t God dwell in Keshab also?”

With these words the Master left the room abruptly and went to the northeast verandah.

Captain and the other devotees remained, waiting for his return. M. accompanied the Master to the verandah, where Narendra was talking with Hazra. Sri Ramakrishna knew that Hazra always indulged in dry philosophical discussions. Hazra would say: “The world is unreal, like a dream. Worship, food offerings to the Deity, and so forth, are only hallucinations of the mind. The aim of spiritual life is to meditate on one’s own real Self.” Then he would repeat, “I am He.” But, with all that, he had a soft corner in his heart for money, material things, and people’s attention.

Sri Ramakrishna smiled and said to Hazra and Narendra, “Hello! What are you talking about?”

NARENDRA (smiling): “Oh, we are discussing a great many things. They are rather too deep for others.”

MASTER (with a smile): “But Pure Knowledge and Pure Love are one and the same thing. Both lead the aspirants to the same goal. The path of love is much the easier.”

Narendra quoted a song: O Mother, make me mad with Thy love! What need have I of knowledge or reason? Narendra said to M. that he had been reading a book by Hamilton, who wrote: “A learned ignorance is the end of philosophy and the beginning of religion.”

MASTER (to M.): “What does that mean?”

Narendra explained the sentence in Bengali. The Master beamed with joy and said in English, “Thank you! Thank you!” Everyone laughed at the charming way he said these words. They knew that his English vocabulary consisted of only half a dozen words.

It was almost dusk when most of the devotees, including Narendra, took leave of the Master. Sri Ramakrishna went out and looked at the Ganges for a few minutes from the west porch. Two priests were bathing in preparation for the evening worship. Young men of the village were strolling in the garden or standing on the concrete embankment, gazing at the murmuring river. Others, perhaps more thoughtful, were walking about in the solitude of the Panchavati.

It became dark. The maidservant lighted the lamp in Sri Ramakrishna’s room and burnt incense. The evening worship began in the twelve temples of Śiva and in the shrines of Krishna and Kāli.

As it was the first day after the full moon, the moonlight soon flooded the tops of the trees and temples, and touched with silver the numberless waves of the sacred river.

The Master returned to his room. After bowing to the Divine Mother, he clapped his hands and chanted the sweet names of God. A number of holy pictures hung on the walls of the room. Among others, there were pictures of Dhruva, Prahlada, Kāli, Radha- Krishna, and the coronation of Rāma. The Master bowed low before the pictures and repeated the holy names. Then he repeated the holy words, “Brahma-Ātmā-Bhagavan; Bhagavata-Bhakta-Bhagavan; Brahma-Śakti, Śakti-Brahma; Veda, Purana, Tantra, Gitā, Gayatri.” Then he said: “I have taken refuge at Thy feet, O Divine Mother; not I, but Thou. I am the machine and Thou art the Operator”, and so on.

Master extols Narendra

While the Master was meditating in this fashion on the Divine Mother, a few devotees, coming in from the garden, gathered in his room. Sri Ramakrishna sat down on the 308small couch. He said to the devotees: “Narendra, Bhavanath, Rakhal , and devotees like them belong to the group of the nityasiddhas; they are eternally free. Religious practice on their part is superfluous. Look at Narendra. He doesn’t care about anyone. One day he was going with me in Captain’s carriage. Captain wanted him to take a good seat, but Narendra didn’t even look at him. He is independent even of me. He doesn’t tell me all he knows, lest I should praise his scholarship before others. He is free from ignorance and delusion. He has no bonds. He is a great soul. He has many good qualities. He is expert in music, both as a singer and player, and is also a versatile scholar.

Again, he keeps his passions under control and says that he will never marry. There is a close friendship between Narendra and Bhavanath; they are just like man and woman. Narendra doesn’t come here very often. That is good, for I am overwhelmed by his presence.”