More Advice to householders

MASTER: “It is difficult to lead the life of a householder in a spirit of detachment. Once Pratap said to me: ‘Sir, we follow the example of King Janaka. He led the life of a householder in a detached spirit. We shall follow him.’ I said to him: ‘Can one be like King Janaka by merely wishing it? How many austerities he practised in order to acquire divine knowledge! He practised the most intense form of asceticism for many years and only then returned to the life of the world.’

“Is there, then, no hope for householders? Certainly there is. They must practise spiritual discipline in solitude for some days. Thus they will acquire knowledge and devotion. Then it will not hurt them to lead the life of the world. But when you practise discipline in solitude, keep yourself entirely away from your family. You must not allow your wife, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, friends, or relatives near you. While thus practising discipline in solitude, you should think: ‘I have no one else in the world. God is my all.’ You must also pray to Him, with tears in your eyes, for knowledge and devotion.

“If you ask me how long you should live in solitude away from your family, I should say that it would be good for you if you could spend even one day in such a manner. Three days at a time are still better. One may live in solitude for twelve days, a month, three months, or a year, according to one’s convenience and ability. One hasn’t much to fear if one leads the life of a householder after attaining knowledge and devotion.

“If you break a jack-fruit after rubbing your hands with oil, then its sticky milk will not smear your hands. While playing the game of hide-and-seek, you are safe if you but once touch the ‘granny’. Be turned into gold by touching the philosopher’s stone. After that you may remain buried underground a thousand years; when you are taken out you will still be gold.

“The mind is like milk. If you keep the mind in the world, which is like water, then the milk and water will get mixed. That is why people keep milk in a quiet place and let it set into curd, and then churn butter from it. Likewise, through spiritual discipline practised in solitude, churn the butter of knowledge and devotion from the milk of the 347mind. Then that butter can easily be kept in the water of the world. It will not get mixed with the world. The mind will float detached on the water of the world.” Vijay had just returned from Gaya, where he had spent a long time in solitude and holy company. He had put on the ochre robe of a monk and was in an exalted state of mind, always indrawn. He was sitting before the Master with his head bent down, as if absorbed in some deep thought.

Casting his benign glance on Vijay, the Master said: “Vijay, have you found your room? “Let me tell you a parable: Once two holy men, in the course of their wanderings, entered a city. One of them, with wondering eyes and mouth agape, was looking at the market-place, the stalls, and the buildings, when he met his companion. The latter said: ‘You seem to be filled with wonder at the city. Where is your baggage?’ He replied: ‘First of all I found a room. I put my things in it, locked the door, and felt totally relieved. Now I am going about the city enjoying all the fun.’

“So I am asking you, Vijay, if you have found your room. (To M. and the others) You see, the spring in Vijay’s heart has been covered all these days. Now it is open. . .

(To V ijay) “Well, Shivanath is always in trouble and turmoil. He has to write for magzines and perform many other duties. Worldly duties bring much worry and anxiety along with them.

“It is narrated in the Bhagavata that the Avadhuta had twenty-four gurus, one of whom was a kite. In a certain place the fishermen were catching fish. A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing. Whichever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it. The kite flew to the south and the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the north and still the crows followed after it. The kite went east and west, but with the same result. As the kite began to fly about in confusion, lo, the fish dropped from its mouth. The crows at once let the kite alone and flew after the fish. Thus relieved of its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and thought: ‘That wretched fish was at the root of all my troubles. I have now got rid of it and therefore I am at peace.’

“The Avadhuta learnt this lesson from the kite, that as long as a man has the fish, that is, worldly desires, he must perform actions and consequently suffer from worry, anxiety, and restlessness. No sooner does he renounce these desires than his activities fall away and he enjoys peace of soul.

“But work without any selfish motive is good. It does not create any worry. But it is very difficult to be totally unselfish. We may think that our work is selfless, but selfishness comes, unknown to us, from no one knows where. But if a man has already undergone great spiritual discipline, then as a result of it he may be able to do work without any selfish motive. After the vision of God a man can easily do unselfish work.

In most cases action drops away after the attainment of God. Only a few, like Nārada, work to bring light to mankind.

“The Avadhuta accepted a bee as another teacher. Bees accumulate their honey by days of hard labour. But they cannot enjoy their honey, for a man soon breaks the comb and takes it away. The Avadhuta learnt this lesson from the bees, that one should not lay things up. Sādhus should depend one hundred per cent on God. They must not gather for the morrow. But this does not apply to the householder. He must bring up his family; therefore it is necessary for him to provide. Birds and monks do not hoard. Yet birds also hoard after their chicks are hatched: they collect food in their beaks for their young ones.

“Let me tell you one thing, Vijay. Don’t trust a sādhu if he keeps bag, and baggage with him and a bundle of clothes with many knots. I have seen such sādhus under the banyan tree in the Panchavati. Two or three of them were seated there. One was picking over lentils, some were sewing their clothes, and all were gossiping about a feast they had enjoyed in a rich man’s house. They said among themselves, ‘That rich man spent a hundred thousand rupees on the feast and fed the sādhus sumptuously with cake, sweets, and many such delicious things.’ " (All laugh)

VIJAY: “It is true, sir. “I have seen such sādhus at Gaya. They are called the lotawalla sādhus of Gaya.”

MASTER (to Vijay): “When love of God is awakened, work drops away of itself. If God makes some men work, let them work. It is now time for you to give up everything.

Renounce all and say, ‘O mind, may you and I alone behold the Mother, letting no One else intrude.’ "

Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna began to sing in his soul-enthralling voice:

Cherish my precious Mother Syama Tenderly within, O mind; May you and I alone behold Her, Letting no one else intrude. O mind, in solitude enjoy Her, Keeping the passions all outside; Take but the tongue, that now and again It may cry out, “O Mother! Mother!” Suffer no breath of base desire To enter and approach us there, But bid true knowledge stand on guard, Alert and watchful evermore.

The Master said to Vijay: “Surrender yourself completely to God, and set aside all such things as fear and shame. Give up such feelings as, ‘What will people think of me if I 349dance in the ecstasy of God’s holy name?’ The saying, ‘One cannot have the vision of God as long as one has these three- shame, hatred, and fear’, is very true. Shame, hatred, fear, caste, pride, secretiveness, and the like are so many bonds. Man is free when he is liberated from all these.

“When bound by ties one is jiva, and when free from ties one is Śiva. Prema, ecstatic love of God, is a rare thing.

Steps of bhakti

“First of all one acquires bhakti. Bhakti is single-minded devotion to God, like the devotion a wife feels for her husband. It is very difficult to have unalloyed devotion to God. Through such devotion one’s mind and soul merge in Him.

“Then comes bhava, intense love. Through bhava a man becomes speechless. His nerve currents are stilled. Kumbhaka comes by itself. It is like the case of a man whose breath and speech stop when he fires a gun.

“But prema, ecstatic love, is an extremely rare thing. Chaitanya had that love. When one has prema one forgets all outer things. One forgets the world. One even forgets one’s own body, which is so dear to a man.”

The Master began to sing: Oh, when will dawn the blessed day When tears of joy will flow from my eyes As I repeat Lord Hari’s name? Oh, when will dawn the blessed day When all my craving for the world Will vanish straightway from my heart, And with the thrill of His holy name All of my hair will stand on end? Oh, when will dawn that blessed day?

So the talk of divine things was proceeding, when some invited Brahmo devotees entered the room. There were among them a few pundits and high government officials. Sri Ramakrishna had said that bhava stills the nerve currents of the devotee. He continued: “When Arjuna was about to shoot at the target, the eye of a fish, his eyes were fixed on the eye of the fish, and on nothing else. He didn’t even notice any part of the fish except the eye. In such a state the breathing stops and one experiences kumbhaka.

“Another characteristic of God-vision is that a great spiritual current rushes up along the spine and goes toward the brain. If then the devotee goes into samādhi, he sees God.” Looking at the Brahmo devotees who had just arrived, the Master said: “Mere pundits, devoid of divine love, talk incoherently. Pundit Samadhyayi once said, in the course of 350his sermon: ‘God is dry. Make Him sweet by your love and devotion.’ Imagine! To describe Him, as dry, whom the Vedas declare as the Essence of Bliss! It makes one feel that the pundit didn’t know what God really is. That was why his words were so incoherent.

“A man once said, ‘There are many horses in my uncle’s cow-shed.’ From that one could know that the man had no horses at all. No one keeps a horse in a cow-shed. Transitoriness of earthly things

“Some people pride themselves on their riches and power-their wealth, honour, and social position. But these are only transitory. Nothing will remain with you in death. “There is a song that runs:

Remember this, O mind! Nobody is your own: Vain is your wandering in this world. Trapped in the subtle snare of maya as you are, Do not forget the Mother’s name. Only a day or two men honour you on earth As lord and master; all too soon That form, so honoured now, must needs be cast away, When Death, the Master, seizes you. Even your beloved wife, for whom, while yet you live, You fret yourself almost to death, Will not go with you then; she too will say farewell, And shun your corpse as an evil thing.

“One must not be proud of one’s money. If you say that you are rich, then one can remind you that there are richer men than you, and others richer still, and so on. At dusk the glow-worm comes out and thinks that it lights the world. But its pride is crushed when the stars appear in the sky. The stars feel that they give light to the earth. But when the moon rises the stars fade in shame. The moon feels that the world smiles at its light and that it lights the earth. Then the eastern horizon becomes red, and the sun rises. The moon fades and after a while is no longer seen.

“If wealthy people would think that way, they would get rid of their pride in their wealth.”

Manilal had provided a sumptuous feast in celebration of the festival. He entertained the Master and the other guests with great love and attention. It was late at night when they returned to their homes.