Master's first meeting with Keshab

When I first met Keshab at Jaygopal’s garden house, I remarked, ‘He is the only one who has dropped his tail.’ At this people laughed. Keshab said to them: ‘Don’t laugh. There must be some meaning in his words. Let us ask him.’ Thereupon I said to Keshab: The tadpole, so long as it has not dropped its tail, lives only in the water. It cannot move about on dry land. But as soon as it drops its tail it hops out on the bank; then it can live both on land and in water. Likewise, as long as a man has not dropped his tail of ignorance, he can live only in the water of the world. But when he drops his tail, that is to say, when he attains the Knowledge of God, then he can roam about as a free soul, or live as a householder if he likes.’ "

Mahimacharan and. the other devotees remained spellbound, listening to the Master’s words.

Master and Devendra Tagore

MASTER: “Once I visited Devendranath Tagore with Mathur Babu. I said to Mathur: ‘I have heard that Devendra Tagore thinks of God. I should like to see him.’ ‘All right,’ said Mathur, ‘I will take you to him. We were fellow students in the Hindu College and. I am very friendly with him.’ We went to Devendra’s house. Mathur and Devendra had not seen each other for a long time. Devendra said to Mathur: ‘You have changed a little. You have grown fat around the stomach.’ Mathur said, referring to me: ‘He has come to see you. He is always mad about God.’ I wanted to see Devendra’s physical marks and said to him, ‘Let me see your body.’ He pulled up his shirt, and I found that he had very fair skin tinted red. His hair had not yet turned grey.

“At the outset I noticed a little vanity in Devendra. And isn’t that natural? He had such wealth, such scholarship, such name and fame! Noticing that streak of vanity, I asked Mathur: ‘Well, is vanity the outcome of knowledge or ignorance? Can a knower of Brahman have such a feeling as, “I am a scholar; I am a Jnāni; I am rich”?’ 708"While I was talking to Devendra, I suddenly got into that state of mind in which I can see a man as he really is. I was convulsed with laughter inside. In that state I regard scholars and the book-learned as mere straw. If I see that a scholar has no discrimination and renunciation, I regard him as worthless straw. I see that he is like a vulture, which soars high but fixes its look on a charnel-pit down below. “I found that Devendra had combined both yoga and bhoga in his life. He had a number of children, all young. The family physician was there. Thus, you see, though he was a Jnāni, yet he was preoccupied with worldly life. I said to him: ‘You are the King Janaka of this Kaliyuga.

Holding to one as well as the other, He drank his milk from a brimming cup!

I have heard that you live in the world and think of God; so I have come to see you. Please tell me something about God.’

“He recited some texts from the Vedas. He said, ‘This universe is like a chandelier and each living being is a light in it.’ Once, meditating in the Panchavati, I too, had had a vision like that. I found his words agreed with my vision, and I thought he must be very great man. I asked him to explain his words. He said: ‘God has created men to manifest His own glory; otherwise, who could know this universe? Everything becomes dark without the lights in the chandelier. One cannot even see the chandelier itself.’ “We talked a long time. Devendra was pleased and said to me, ‘You must come to our Brahmo Samaj festival.’ ‘That’, I said, ‘depends on the will of God. You can see the state of my mind. There’s no knowing when God will put me into a particular state.’ Devendra insisted: ‘No, you must come. ‘But put on your cloth and wear a shawl over your body. Someone might say something. unkind about your untidiness, and that would hurt me.’ ‘No,’ I replied, ‘I cannot promise that. I cannot be a babu.’ Devendra and Mathur laughed.

“The very next day Mathur received a letter from Devendra forbidding me to go to the festival. He wrote that it would be ungentlemanly of me not to cover my body with a shawl. (All laugh.)

Colonel Viswanath

“There is another big man: Captain. Though a man of the world, he is a great lover of God. (To Mahima) Talk to him some time. He knows the Vedas, the Vedānta, the Bhagavata, the Gitā, the Adhyātma Rāmāyana, and other scriptures by heart. You will find that out when you talk to him.

“He has great piety. Once I was going along a street in Baranagore and he held an umbrella over my head. He invites me to his house and shows me great attention. He fans me, massages my feet, and feeds me with various dishes. Once at his house I went into samādhi in the toilet; and he took care of me there though he is so particular about his orthodox habits. He didn’t show any abhorrence for the place. 709"He has many expenses. He supports his brothers who live in Benares. His wife was a miserly woman at first. Now she is so burdened by the expenses of the family that she cannot spend all the money she would like to. “Captain’s wife said to me: ‘He doesn’t enjoy worldly life. That is why he once said he would renounce the world.’ True, every now and then he expressed that desire. “Captain was born in a family of devotees. His father was a soldier. I have heard that on the battle-field he would worship Śiva with one hand and hold a naked sword in the other. “Captain is a strong upholder of orthodox conventions. Because of my visiting Keshab Chandra Sen, he stopped coming here for a month. He said to me that Keshab had violated the social conventions: he dined with the English, had married his daughter into another caste, and had lost his own caste. I said to Captain: ‘What do I care for such things? Keshab chants the name of God; so I go to him to hear about God. I eat only the plum; what do I care about the thorns?’ But Captain remained stubborn. He said to me, ‘Why do you see Keshab?’ I answered him rather sharply: ‘But I don’t go to him for money; I go there to hear the name of God; And how is it that you visit the Viceroy’s house? He is a mlechchha. How can you be in his company?’ That silenced him a little. “But he is a great devotee. When he worships he performs Ārati with camphor. When he recites hymns he becomes a totally different person. He becomes absorbed. Essence of Vedānta (To Mahimacharan) “In the light of Vedantic reasoning the world is illusory, unreal as a dream. The Supreme Soul is the Witness-the witness of the three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. These things are in your line of thought. The waking state is only as real as the dream. Let me tell you a story that agrees with your attitude. “There was a farmer who lived in the countryside. He was a real Jnāni. He earned his living by farming. He was married, and after many years a son was born to him, whom he named Haru. The parents loved the boy dearly. This was natural, since he was the one precious gem in the family. On account of his religious nature the farmer was loved by the villagers. One day he was working in the field when a neighbour came and told him that Haru had had an attack of cholera. The farmer at once returned home and arranged for treatment for the boy. But Haru died. The other members of the family were grief-stricken, but the farmer acted as if nothing had happened. He consoled his family and told them that grieving was futile. Then he went back to his field. On returning home he found his wife weeping even more bitterly. She said to him: “How heartless you are! You haven’t shed one tear for the child.’ The farmer replied quietly: ‘Shall I tell you why I haven’t wept? I had a very vivid dream last night. I dreamt I had become a king; I was the father of eight sons and was very happy with them. Then I woke up. Now I am greatly perplexed. Should I weep for those eight sons or for this one Haru?’ 710’The farmer was a Jnāni; therefore he realized that the waking state is as unreal as the dream state. There is only one eternal Substance, and that is the Ātman. “But for my part I accept everything: Turiya and also the three states of waking, dream; and deep sleep. I accept all three states. I accept all- Brahman and also māyā, the universe, and its living beings. If I accepted less I should not get the full weight.” A Devotee: “The full weight? How is that?” (All laugh.)