Divine Mother is the Universal Consciousness

“The Divine Mother revealed to me in the Kāli temple that it was She who had become everything. She showed me that everything was full of Consciousness. The Image was Consciousness, the altar was Consciousness, the water-vessels were Consciousness, the door-sill was Consciousness, the marble floor was Consciousness-all was Consciousness. “I found everything inside the room soaked, as it were, in Bliss-the Bliss of Satchidananda. I saw a wicked man in front of the Kāli temple; but in him also I saw the Power of the Divine Mother vibrating.

“That was why I fed a cat with the food that was to be offered to the Divine Mother. I clearly perceived that the Divine Mother Herself had become everything-even the cat. The manager of the temple garden wrote to Mathur Babu saying that I was feeding the cat with the offering intended for the Divine Mother. But Mathur Babu had insight into the state of my mind. He wrote back to the manager: ‘Let him do whatever he likes. You must not say anything to him.’

“After realizing God, one sees all this aright-that it is He who has become the universe, living beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles. But what remains when God completely effaces the ego cannot be described in words. As Ramprasad said in one of his songs, ‘Then alone will you know whether you are good or I am good!’ I get into even that state now and then.

“A man sees a thing in one way through reasoning and in an altogether different way when God Himself shows it to him.”

Monday, December 17, 1883

It was about eight o’clock in the morning. Sri Ramakrishna was in his room with M., when Dr. Madhu arrived and sat down beside the Master on the small couch. He was an elderly man and full of wit. He used to visit the Master when the latter felt indisposed. MASTER: “The whole thing, in a nutshell is that one must develop ecstatic love for Satchidananda. What kind of love? How should one love God? Gauri used to say that one must become like Sita to understand Rāma; like Bhagavati, the Divine Mother, to understand Bhagavan, Śiva. One must practise austerity, as Bhagavati did, in order to attain Śiva. One must cultivate the attitude of Prakriti in order to realize Purusha-the attitude of a friend, a handmaid, or a mother.

“I saw Sita in a vision. I found that her entire mind was concentrated on Rāma. She was totally indifferent to everything-her hands, her feet, her clothes, her jewels. It seemed that Rāma had filled every bit of her life and she could not remain alive without Rāma.”

M: “Yes, sir. She was mad with love for Rāma.”

MASTER: “Mad! That’s the word. One must become mad with love in order to realize God. But that love is not possible if the mind dwells on ‘woman and gold’. Sex-life with a woman! What happiness is there in that? The realization of God gives ten million times more happiness. Gauri used to say that when a man attains ecstatic love of God all the pores of the skin, even the roots of the hair, become like so many sexual organs, and in every pore the aspirant enjoys the happiness of communion with the Ātman.

“One must call on God with a longing heart. One must learn from the guru how God can be realized. Only if the guru himself has attained Perfect Knowledge can he show the way.

“A man, gets rid of all desires when he has Perfect Knowledge. He becomes like a child five years old. Sages like Dattatreya and Jadabharata had the nature of a child.”

M: “One hears about them. But there were many others like them that the world doesn’t hear about.”

MASTER: “Yes. The Jnāni gets rid of all desire if any is left, it does not hurt him. At the touch of the philosopher’s stone the sword is transformed into gold. Then that sword cannot do any killing. Just so, the Jnāni keeps only a semblance of anger and passion. They are anger and passion only in name and cannot injure him.”

M: “Yes, sir. The Jnāni goes beyond the three gunas, as you say. He is not under the control of any of the gunas-sattva, rajas, or tamas. All these three are so many robbers, as it were.”

MASTER: “Yes, one must assimilate that.”

M: “In this world there are perhaps not more than three or four men of Perfect Knowledge.”

MASTER: “Why do you say that? One sees many holy men and sannyasis in the monasteries of upper India.”

M: “Well, I too can become a sannyasi like one of those.”

The Master fixed his gaze on M. and said, “By renouncing everything?”

M: “What can a man achieve unless he gets rid of maya? What will a man gain by merely being a sannyasi, if he cannot subdue maya?”

Both remained silent a few minutes.

M: “Sir, what is the nature of the divine love transcending the three gunas?”

MASTER: “Attaining that love, the devotee sees everything full of Spirit and Consciousness. To him ‘Krishna is Consciousness, and His sacred Abode is also Consciousness’. The devotee, too, is Consciousness. Everything is Consciousness. Very few people attain such love.”

DR. MADHU: “The love transcending the three gunas means, in other words, that the devotee is not under the control of any of the gunas.”

MASTER (smiling): “Yes, that’s it. He becomes like a child five years old, not under the control of any of the gunas.”

The Master was resting after his noon meal. Mani Mallick arrived and saluted him. Sri Ramakrishna remained lying on the couch and said a word or two to Mani.

MANI: “I hear you visited Keshab Sen.”

MASTER: “Yes. How is he now?”

MANI: “He hasn’t recovered to any extent from his illness.”

MASTER: “I found him to be very rajasic. I had to wait a long time before I could see him.”

The Master sat up on the couch and continued his conversation with the devotees.

MASTER (to M.): “I became mad for Rāma. I used to walk about carrying an image of Ramlala given to me by a monk. I bathed it, fed it, and laid it down to sleep. I carried it wherever I went. I became mad for Ramlala.”