With Various Devotees
Table of Contents
Sunday, October 26, 1884
IT WAS AFTERNOON, and many devotees were present in the Master’s room. Among them were Manomohan, Mahimacharan, and M. They were joined later by Ishan and Hazra. Balarām and Rakhal were still staying at Vrindāvan.
The many young boys who at this time began to seek the Master’s company later became his intimate disciples. Lātu lived with the Master, and Jogin, who lived in the village, was a frequent visitor. Sri Ramakrishna, happy child of the Divine Mother that he was, radiated a joy and peace that were reflected in the hearts of his devotees and found expression in their happy faces.
They were seated on the floor and had their eyes fixed on the Master, who was standing in a pensive mood, like a boy.
God in all beings
(to Manomohan): “I see Rāma in all things. You are all sitting here, but I see only Rāma in everyone of you.”
MANOMOHAN: “Yes, sir. It is Rāma who has become everything. But, as you say, though all water is Narayana, yet some water is fit for drinking, some for washing the hands and face, and some only for cleaning pots and pans.”
MASTER: “It is true. But I see that it is God Himself who has become everything-the universe and its living beings.”
MASTER (to Mahimacharan): “There is no question of my being truthful; but must I develop a mania for it? If I once say that I shall not eat, then it is impossible for me to eat, even if I am hungry. Again, if I ask a particular man to take my water-jug to the pine-grove, he alone must carry it. If another man carries it, he will have to take it back.
What a fix I am in! Is there no way out of it?
Besides, I can’t carry anything with me, neither food nor betel-leaf; for that means laying up for the future. I can’t carry a little clay in my hand.” Just then a man entered the room and told the Master that Hriday was waiting to see him in Jadu Mallick’s garden, near the gate.
to the devotees: “I shall have to see Hriday. Please don’t leave the room.
He put on his slippers and went toward the east gate of the temple garden, M. accompanying him.
He found Hriday waiting for him near the gate of Jadu Mallick’s garden.
Hriday prostrated himself before him. When the Master told him to get up, he rose and began to cry like a child.
How strange! Tears also appeared in the Master’s eyes. He wiped them away with his hands. Hriday had made him suffer endless agonies, yet the Master wept for him.
Why are you here now?
HRIDAY (weeping): “I have come to see you. To whom else shall I tell my sorrows?”
smiling: One cannot avoid such sorrows in the world. Pleasure and pain are inevitable in worldly life. (Pointing to M.) That is why they come here now and then. They get peace of mind by hearing about God. What is your trouble?
HRIDAY (weeping): “I am deprived of your company and so I suffer.”
Why, was it not you who said to me, ‘You follow your ideal and let me follow mine’?
Yes, I did say that. But what did I know?
I shall say good-bye to you now. Come another day and we shall talk together. Today is Sunday and many people have come to see me. They are waiting in my room. Have you had a good crop in the country?
It isn’t bad.
Let me say good-bye. Come another day.
He tormented me as much as he served me. When my stomach trouble had reduced my body to a couple of bones and I couldn’t eat anything, he said to me one day: ‘Look at me—how well I eat! You’ve just taken a fancy that you can’t eat.’ Again he said: ‘You are a fool! If I weren’t living with you, where would your profession of holiness be?’ One day he tormented me so much that I stood on the embankment ready to give up my body by jumping into the Ganges, which was then at flood-tide.
Well, he served me a great deal; then why should he have fallen on such evil days? He took care of me like a parent bringing up a child. As for me, I would remain unconscious of the world day and night. Besides, I was ill for a long time. I was completely at his mercy.
Bhava and Mahabhava
Sir, we hear that you go into samādhi and experience ecstasy. Please explain why and how you get into that mood.
Sri Radha used to experience Mahabhava. If any of her companions wanted to touch her while she was in that state, another of them would say: ‘Please do not touch that body, the playground of Sri Krishna. Krishna is now sporting in her body.’ It is not possible to experience bhava or mahabhava without the realization of God. When a fish comes up from a great depth, you see a movement on the surface of the water; and if it is a big one there is much splashing about. That is why a devotee ’laughs and weeps and dances and sings in the ecstasy of God’.
One cannot remain in bhava very long. People take a man to be crazy if he sits before a mirror and looks at his face all the time.
Sir, we hear that you see God. If you do, please show Him to us.
Everything depends on God’s will. What can a man do? While chanting God’s name, sometimes tears flow and at other times the eyes remain dry. While meditating on God, some days I feel a great deal of inner awakening, and some days I feel nothing. “A man must work. Only then can he see God. One day, in an exalted mood, I had a vision of the Haldārpukur. I saw a low-caste villager drawing water after pushing aside the green scum. Now and then he took up the water in the palm of his hand and examined it. In that vision it was revealed to me that the water cannot be seen without pushing aside the green scum that covers it; that is to say, one cannot develop love of God or obtain His vision without work. Work means meditation, japa, and the like. The chanting of God’s name and glories is work too. You may also include charity, sacrifice, and so on. “If you want butter, you must let the milk turn to curd. It must be left in a quiet place. When the milk becomes curd, you must work hard to churn it. Only then can you get butter from the milk.”
MAHIMACHARAN: “That is true, sir. Work is certainly necessary. One must labour hard. Only then does one succeed. There is so much to read! The scriptures are endless.”
How much of the scriptures can you read? What will you gain by mere reasoning? Try to realize God before anything else. Have faith in the guru’s words, and work. If you have no guru, then pray to God with a longing heart. He will let you know what He is like.
“What will you learn of God from books? As long as you are at a distance from the market-place you hear only an indistinct roar. But it is quite different when you are actually there. Then you hear and see everything distinctly. You hear people saying: ‘Here are your potatoes. Take them and give me the money.’ “From a distance you hear only the rumbling noise of the ocean. Go near it and you will see many boats sailing about, birds flying, and waves rolling.
“One cannot get true feeling about God from the study of books. This feeling is something very different from book-learning. Books, scriptures, and science appear as mere dirt and straw after the realization of God.
“The one thing needful is to be introduced to the master of the house. Why are you so anxious to know beforehand how many houses and gardens, and how many government securities, the master possesses? The servants of the house would not allow you even to approach these, and they would certainly not tell you about their master’s investments. Therefore, somehow or other become acquainted with the master, even if you have to jump over the fence or take a few pushes from the servants. Then the master himself will tell you all about his houses and gardens and his government securities. And what is more, the servants and the door-keeper will salute you when you are known to the master.’
(All laugh.)
Devotee: “Now the question is how to become acquainted with the master.” (Laughter.)
That is why I say that work is necessary. It will not do to say that God exists and then idle away your time. You must reach God somehow or other. Call on Him in solitude and pray to Him, ‘O Lord! reveal Thyself to me.’ Weep for Him with a longing heart. You roam about in search of ‘woman and gold’ like a madman; now be a little mad for God. Let people say, ‘This man has lost his head for God.’ Why not renounce everything for a few days and call on God in solitude?
What will you achieve by simply saying that God exists and doing nothing about it? There are big fish in the Haldārpukur; but can you catch them by merely sitting idly on the bank? Prepare some spiced bait and throw it into the lake. Then the fish will come from the deep water and you will see ripples. That will make you happy. Perhaps a fish will jump with a splash and you will get a glimpse of it. Then you will be so glad!
Milk must be turned to curd and the curd must be churned. Only then will you get butter. (To Mahima) What a nuisance! Someone must show God to a man, while he himself sits idly by all the while! Someone must extract the butter and hold it in front of his mouth! (All laugh.) What a bother! Someone else must catch the fish and give it to him!
A man wanted to see the king. The king lived in the inner court of the palace, beyond seven gates. No sooner did the man pass the first gate than he exclaimed, ‘Oh, where is the king?’ But there were seven gates, and he must pass them one after another before he could see the king.
MAHIMACHARAN: “By what kind of work can one realize God?”
It is not that God can be realized by this work and not by that. The vision of God depends on His grace. Still a man must work a little with longing for God in his heart. If he has longing he will receive the grace of God.