Sannyāsi's discipline

“The sannyāsi’s way of living is like observing the ekadasi fast without taking even a drop of water. If he clings to enjoyment, then he has reason to be afraid. ‘Woman and gold’ is enjoyment. If a monk enjoys it, he is swallowing his own spittle, as it were.

There are different kinds of enjoyment: money, wealth, name, fame, and sense pleasures. It is not good for a sannyāsi to sit in the company of a woman devotee, or even to talk to her.

This injures him and others as well. Then others cannot learn from him; he cannot set an example to humanity. A sannyāsi keeps his body in order to teach mankind.

“To sit with a woman or talk to her a long time has also been described as a kind of sexual intercourse. There are eight kinds. To listen to a woman and enjoy her conversation is one kind; to speak about a woman is another kind; to whisper to her privately is a third kind; to keep something belonging to a woman and enjoy it is a fourth kind; to touch her is a fifth. Therefore a sannyāsi should not salute his guru’s young wife, touching her feet. These are the rules for sannyāsis.

Householders discipline

“But the case is quite different with householders. After the birth of one or two children, the husband and wife should live as brother and sister. The other seven kinds of sexual intercourse do not injure them much.

A householder has various debts: debts to the gods, to the fathers, and to the rishis. He also owes a debt to his wife. He should make her the mother of one or two children and support her if she is a chaste woman.

“Householders do not know who is a good wife and who is a bad wife, who is a vidyaŚakti and who is an avidyaŚakti. A vidyaŚakti, a good wife, has very little lust and anger. She sleeps little. She pushes her husband’s head away from her.

She is full of affection, kindness, devotion, modesty, and other noble qualities. Such a wife serves all, looking on all men as her children. Further, she helps increase her husband’s love of God.

She doesn’t spend much money lest her husband should have to work hard and thus not get leisure to think of God. “Mannish women have different traits. These are bad traits: squint eyes and hollow eyes, catlike eyes, lantern jaws like a calf’s, and pigeon-breast.”

GIRISH: “What is the way for people like us?”

MASTER: “Bhakti is the only essential thing. Bhakti has different aspects: the sattvic, the rajasic, and the tamasic. One who has sattvic bhakti is very modest and humble. But a man with tamasic bhakti is like a highwayman in his attitude toward God. He says: ‘O God, I am chanting. Your name; how can I be a sinner? O God, You are my own Mother; You must reveal your-self to me.’ "

GIRISH (smiling): “It is you, sir, who teach us tamasic bhakti.”

Different kinds of samādhi

MASTER (smiling): “There are certain signs of God-vision. When a man sees God he goes into samādhi. There are 5 kinds of samādhi.

1. He feels the Mahāvāyu rise like an ant crawling up.

2. He feels It rise like a fish swimming in the water.

3. He feels It rise like a snake wriggling along.

4. He feels It rise like a bird flying-flying from one branch to another.

5. He feels It rise like a monkey making a big jump;

The Mahāvāyu reaches the head with one jump, as it were, and samādhi follows.

There are 2 other kinds of samādhi.

1. The sthita samādhi

The aspirant totally loses outer consciousness: he remains in that state a long time, it may be for many days.

2. The Unmana Samādhi

It withdraws the mind suddenly from all sense-objects and unite it with God.

GIRISH: “Can one realize God by sādhanā ?”

MASTER: “People have realized God in various ways. Some through much austerity, worship, and devotion; they have attained perfection through their own efforts. Some are born perfect, as for example Nārada and Sukadeva; they are called nityasiddha, eternally perfect. There are also those who have attained perfection all of a sudden; it is like a man’s unexpectedly coming into a great fortune. Again, there are instances of people’s realizing God in a dream and by divine grace.”

Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna sang, intoxicated with divine fervour:

Can everyone have the vision of Syama? Is Kāli’s treasure for everyone?

Oh, what a pity my foolish mind will not see what is true! . . .

Sri Ramakrishna remained in ecstasy a few moments. Girish and the other devotees were seated before him. A few days earlier Girish had been very rude to the Master at the Star Theatre; but now he was in a calm state of mind.

MASTER (to Girish): “This mood of yours is very good; it is peaceful. I prayed about you to the Divine Mother, ‘O Mother, make him peaceful so that he won’t abuse me.’ "

GIRISH (to M.): “I feel as if someone were pressing my tongue. I can’t talk.”

Sri Ramakrishna was still in an indrawn mood; he seemed to be gradually forgetting the men and the objects around him. He tried to bring his mind down to the relative world.

He looked at the devotees.

Looking at M., he said: “They all come to Dakshineswar. Let them. Mother knows everything.” To a young man of the neighbourhood he said: “Hello! What do you think? What is the duty of man?” All sat in silence. To Narayan he said: “Don’t you want to pass the examinations? But, my dear child, a man freed from bondage is Śiva; entangled in bondage, he is jiva.”

Sri Ramakrishna was still in the God-intoxicated mood. There was a glass of water near him. He drank the water. He said to himself, “Why, I have drunk water in this mood!” It was not yet dusk. Sri Ramakrishna was talking to Atul, who was seated in front of him. Atul was Girish’s brother and a lawyer of the High Court of Calcutta. A brahmin neighbour was also seated near him.

MASTER (to Atul): “All I want to tell you is this. Follow both; perform your duties in the world and also cultivate love of God.”

BRAHMIN: “Can anyone but a brahmin achieve perfection?”

MASTER: “Why should you ask that? It is said that in the Kaliyuga the sudras achieve love of God. There are the instances of Savari, Ruhidas, the untouchable Guhaka, and others.”

NARAYAN (smiling): “Brahmins and sudras-all are one.”

BRAHMIN: “Can a man realize God in one birth?”

MASTER: “Is anything impossible for the grace of God? Suppose you bring a light into a room that has been dark a thousand years; does it remove the darkness little by little?

The room is lighted all at once. (To Atul) Intense renunciation is what is needed. One should be like an unsheathed sword. When a man has that renunciation, he looks on his relatives as black cobras and his home as a deep well.

“One should pray to God with sincere longing. God cannot but listen to prayer if it is sincere.”

All sat in silence, pondering Sri Ramakrishna’s words.

MASTER (to Atul): “What is worrying you? Is it that you haven’t that grit, that intense restlessness for God?”