Chanting God's holy name

“Man becomes pure by repeating the name of God. Therefore one should practise the chanting of God’s name. I said to Jadu Mallick’s mother: ‘In the hour of death you will think only of worldly things-of family, children, executing the will, and so forth.

The thought of God will not come to your mind. The way to remember God in the hour of death is to practise, now, the repetition of His name and the chanting of His glories. If one keeps up this practice, then in the hour of death one will repeat the name of God.

When the cat pounces upon the bird, the bird only squawks and does not say, ‘Rāma, Rāma, Hare-Krishna’.

“It is good to prepare for death. One should constantly think of God and chant His name in solitude during the last years of one’s life. If the elephant is put into the stable after its bath it is not soiled again by dirt and dust.”

Balarām’s father, Mani Mallick, and Beni Pāl were all elderly men. Did the Master give this instruction especially for their benefit?

MASTER: “Why do I ask you to think of God and chant His name in solitude? Living in the world day and night, one suffers from worries. Haven’t you noticed brother killing brother for a foot of land? The Sikhs said to me, ‘The cause of all worry and confusion is these three: land, woman, and money.’

“You are leading a householder’s life. Why should you be afraid of the world?

When Rāma said to Dasaratha that He was going to renounce the world, it worried His father, and the king sought counsel of Vasishtha.

Vasishtha said to Rāma: ‘Rāma, why should You give up the world? Reason with me; Is this world outside God? What is there to renounce and what is there to accept? Nothing whatever exists but God. It is Brahman alone that appears as Isvara, maya, living beings, and the universe.’ "

BALARĀM’S FATHER: “It is very difficult, sir.”

MASTER: “The aspirant, while practising spiritual discipline, looks upon the world as a ‘framework of illusion’. Again, after the attainment of Knowledge, the vision of God, this very world becomes to him a ‘mansion of mirth’.

“It is written in the books of the Vaishnavas: ‘God can be attained through faith alone; reasoning pushes Him far away.’ Faith alone!

“What faith Krishnakishore had! At Vrindāvan a low-caste man drew water for him from a well. Krishnakishore said to him, ‘Repeat the name of Śiva.’ After the man had repeated the name of Śiva, Krishnakishore unhesitatingly drank the water. He used to say, ‘If a man chants the name of God, does he need to spend money any more for the atonement of his sins? How foolish!’ He was amazed to see people worshipping God with the sacred tulsi-leaf in order to get rid of their illnesses. At the bathing-ghat here he said to us, ‘Please bless me, that I may pass my days repeating Rāma’s holy name.’

Whenever I went to his house he would dance with joy at the sight of me. Rāma said to Lakshmana, ‘Brother, whenever you find people singing and dancing in the ecstasy of divine love, know for certain that I am there.’ Chaitanya is an example of such ecstatic love.

He laughed and wept and danced and sang in divine ecstasy. He was an Incarnation. God incarnated Himself through Chaitanya.”

Sri Ramakrishna sang a song describing the divine love of Chaitanya. Then Balarām’s father, Mani Mallick, Beni Pāl, and several other devotees took leave of the Master.

In the evening, devotees from Kansaritola, Calcutta, arrived. The Master danced and sang with them in a state of divine fervour. After dancing, he went into a spiritual mood and said, “I shall go part of the way myself.” Kishori came forward to massage his feet, but the Master did not allow anyone to touch him.

Ishan arrived. The Master was seated, still in a spiritual mood. After a while he became engaged in talk with Ishan. It was Ishan’s desire to practise the Purascharana of the Gayatri.

MASTER (to Ishan): “Follow your own intuition. I hope there is no more doubt in your mind. Is there any? The path of the Vedas is not meant for the Kaliyuga. The path of Tantra is efficacious.”

ISHAN: “I have almost resolved to perform an atonement ceremony.”

MASTER: “Do you mean to say that one cannot follow the path of Tantra? That which is Brahman is also Śakti, Kāli. Knowing the secret that Kāli is one with the highest Brahman, I have discarded, once for all, both righteousness and sin.”

ISHAN: “It is mentioned in a hymn in the Chandi that Brahman alone is the Primal Energy. Brahman is identical with Śakti.”

MASTER: “It will not do simply to express that idea in words. Only when you assimilate it will all be well with you.

“When the heart becomes pure through the practice of spiritual discipline, then one rightly feels that God alone is the Doer. He alone has become mind, life, and intelligence. We are only His instruments. Thou it is that holdest the elephant in the mire; Thou, that helpest the lame man scale the loftiest hill.

“When your heart becomes pure, then you will realize that it is God who makes us perform such rites as the Purascharana.

Thou workest Thine own work; men only call it theirs.

“All doubts disappear after the realization of God. Then the devotee meets the favourable wind. He becomes free from worry. He is like the boatman who, when the favourable wind blows, unfurls the sail, holds the rudder lightly, and enjoys a smoke.” Ishan took his leave and Sri Ramakrishna talked with M. No one else was present. He asked M. what he thought of Narendra, Rakhal , Adhar, and Hazra, and whether they were guileless. “And”, asked the Master, “what do you think of me?”.

M. said: “You are simple and at the same time deep. understand you.”

Sri Ramakrishna laughed.

It is extremely difficult to

November 26, 1883

It was the day of the annual festival of the Sinduriapatti Brahmo Samaj. The ceremony was to be performed in Manilal Mallick’s house. The worship hall was beautifully decorated with flowers, wreaths, and evergreens, and many devotees were assembled, eagerly awaiting the worship.

Their enthusiasm had been greatly heightened by the news that Sri Ramakrishna was going to grace the occasion with his presence. Keshab, Vijay, Shivanath, and other leaders of the Brahmo Samaj held him in high respect. His God intoxicated state of mind, his intense love of spiritual life, his burning faith, his intimate communion with God, and his respect for women, whom he regarded as veritable manifestations of the Divine Mother, together with the unsullied purity of his character, his complete renunciation of worldly talk, his love and respect for all religious faiths, and his eagerness to meet devotees of all creeds, attracted the members of the Brahmo Samaj to him.

Devotees came that day from far-off places to join the festival, for it would give them a chance to get a glimpse of the Master and listen to his inspiring talk.

Sri Ramakrishna arrived at the house before the worship began, and became engaged in conversation with Vijaykrishna Goswami and the other devotees. The lamps were lighted and the divine service was about to begin. The Master asked if Shivanath would come to the festival. A Brahmo devotee said that he had other important things to do and was not coming.

Truthfulness leads to God

MASTER: “I feel very happy when I see Shivanath. He always seems to be absorbed in the bliss of bhakti. Further, a man who is respected by so many surely possesses some divine power. But he has one great defect: he doesn’t keep his word. Once he said to me that, he would come to Dakshineswar, but he neither came nor sent me word. That is not good. It is said that truthfulness alone constitutes the spiritual discipline of the Kaliyuga.

If a man clings tenaciously to truth he ultimately realizes God. Without this regard for truth, one gradually loses everything. If by chance I say that I will go to the pine-grove, I must go there even if there is no further need of it, lest I lose my attachment to truth. After my vision of the Divine Mother, I prayed to Her, taking a flower in my hands: ‘Mother, here is Thy knowledge and here is Thy ignorance.

Take them both, and give me only pure love. Here is Thy holiness and here is Thy unholiness. Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love. Here is Thy good and here is Thy evil. Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love. Here is Thy righteousness, and here is Thy unrighteousness. Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.’ I mentioned all these, but I could not say: ‘Mother, here is Thy truth and here is Thy falsehood. Take them both.’ I gave up everything at Her feet but could not bring myself to give up truth.”

Soon the service began according to the rules of the Brahmo Samaj. The preacher was seated on the dais. After the opening prayer he recited holy texts of the Vedas and was joined by the congregation in the invocation to the Supreme Brahman. They chanted in chorus: “Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, and Infinity. It shines as Bliss and Immortality.

Brahman is Peace, Blessedness, the One without a Second; It is pure and unstained by sin.” The minds of the devotees were stilled, and they closed their eyes in meditation.

The Master went into deep samādhi. He sat there transfixed and speechless. After some time he opened his eyes, looked around, and suddenly stood up with the words “Brahma! Brahma!” on his lips. Soon the devotional music began, accompanied by drums and cymbals. In a state of divine fervour the Master began to dance with the devotees.

Vijay and the other Brahmos danced around him. The guests and the devotees were enchanted. Many of them drank the sweet bliss of God’s name and forgot the world. The happiness of the material world appeared bitter to them, at least for the time being.

After the kirtan all sat around the Master, eager to hear his words.