Trailokya

Sri Ramakrishna left the room for a minute. The women devotees were seated near the screen. They were eager to see Sri Ramakrishna. Trailokya went on with his music.

Sri Ramakrishna entered the room again and said to Trailokya, “Please sing a little about the Blissful Mother.”

Trailokya sang:

O Mother, how deep is Thy love for men! Mindful of it, I weep for joy. . . . Listening to the song, the younger Naren went into deep meditation. He remained as still as a log. Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: “Look at him. He is totally unaware of the outer world.”

The song was over. At Sri Ramakrishna’s request, Trailokya sang:

O Mother, make me mad with Thy love! What need have I of knowledge or reason? . . . Ram asked him to sing about Hari.

Trailokya sang:

Chant, O mind, the name of Hari, Sing aloud the name of Hari, Praise Lord Hari’s name! And praising Hari’s name, O mind, Cross the ocean of this world. Hari dwells in earth, in water, Hari dwells in fire and air; In sun and moon He dwells. Hari’s ever living presence Fills the boundless universe.

M. said in a low voice to Trailokya, “Please- ‘Gaur and Nitai, ye blessed brothers’.”

Sri Ramakrishna, too, asked him to sing the song. Trailokya and the devotees sang it in chorus, the Master joining them. When it was over, the Master sang:

Behold, the two brothers have come, who weep while chanting Hari’s name, The brothers who, in return for blows, offer to sinners Hari’s love, Embracing everyone as brother, even the outcaste shunned by men.

Behold, the two brothers have come, who once were Kanai and Balāi of Braja. . . . Sri Ramakrishna sang again: See how all Nadia is shaking Under the waves of Gaurānga’s love! . . .

Then:

Who are they that walk along, chanting Hari’s name? O Madhai, go out and see! They seem to be Gaur and Nitai, With golden anklets on their lovely feet; Shaven of head and clad in rags, They reel like madmen as they go. . . . The younger Naren was about to leave.

MASTER: “Show great devotion to your parents; but don’t obey them if they stand in your way to God. You must gird your loins with great determination and say, ‘This rogue of a father!’”

NAREN: “Truly, I have no fear.”

Girish arrived. Sri Ramakrishna introduced him to Trailokya. He asked them to talk to each other. A few minutes later the Master said, “That song again, please.”

Trailokya sang:

Victory to Gora, Sachi’s son! Hail, Abode of every virtue, Touchstone of Love, Ocean of Bliss, Man’s bewitcher, beauteous of form, Enchanting the eye like shining gold! . . . Sri Ramakrishna went into samādhi. He stood up, totally unconscious of the world.

Regaining partial consciousness, he begged Trailokya to sing “Oh, what a vision I have beheld”.

Trailokya sang:

Oh, what a vision I have beheld in Keshab Bharati’s hut! Gora, in all his matchless grace Shedding tears in a thousand streams!

Like a mad elephant He dances in ecstasy and sings, Drunk with an overwhelming love.

Rolling flat upon the ground and swimming in his tears, He weeps and shouts Lord Hari’s name, Piercing the very heavens with his cries, Loud as a lion’s roar;

Then most humbly he begs men’s love, To feel himself the servant of God. Shorn of his locks, he has put on the yogi’s ochre robe; Even the hardest heart must melt To see his pure and heavenly love. Smitten with man’s deep woe, He has abandoned everything And pours out love unstintingly.

Oh, would that Premdas were his slave and, passing from door to door, Might sing Gaurānga’s endless praise! The music was over. It was about dusk. Sri Ramakrishna was surrounded by the devotees.

MASTER (to Ram): “There were no instruments to accompany the songs. The singing creates an atmosphere when there is proper accompaniment. (Smiling) Do you know how Balarām manages a festival? He is like a miserly brahmin raising a cow. The cow must eat very little but give milk in torrents. (All laugh.) Sing your own songs and beat your own drums: that’s Balarām’s idea!” (All laugh.)

Discussion with Trailokya

As evening came on, lamps were lighted in the drawing-room and on the verandah. Sri Ramakrishna bowed to the Divine Mother and began to chant the name of God. The devotees sat around and listened to his sweet chanting. They wanted to discuss with Trailokya his remarks about the Master’s change of opinion on worldly life. Girish started the discussion.

GIRISH (to Trailokya): “You have written that, after coming in contact with Keshab, Sri Ramakrishna changed his views about worldly life; but it isn’t true.”

MASTER (to Trailokya and the other devotees): “If a man enjoys the Bliss of God, he doesn’t enjoy the world. Having tasted divine bliss, he finds the world insipid. If a man gets a shawl, he doesn’t care for broadcloth.”

TRAILOKYA: “I referred to those who wanted to lead a worldly life. I didn’t mean renouncers”

Divine bliss is the highest

MASTER: “What are you talking about? People talk about leading a religious life in the world. But if they once taste the bliss of God they will not enjoy anything else. Their attachment to worldly duties declines. As their spiritual joy becomes deeper, they simply cannot perform their worldly duties. More and more they seek that joy. Can worldly pleasures and sex pleasures be compared to the bliss of God? If a man once tastes that bliss he runs after it ever afterwards. It matters very little to him then whether the world remains or disappears.

“Though the chatak bird is about to die of a parched throat, and around it there are seven oceans, rivers, and lakes overflowing with water, still it will not touch that water. Its throat is cracking with thirst, and still it will not drink that water. It looks up, mouth agape, for the rain to fall when the star Svati is in the ascendant. ‘To the chatak bird all waters are mere dryness beside Swati water.’

Holding to both God and the world

“People say they will hold to both God and the world. After drinking an ounce of wine, a man may be pleasantly intoxicated and also conscious of the world; but can he be both when he has drunk a great deal more?”

After the bliss of God nothing else tastes good. Then talk about ‘woman and gold’ stabs the heart, as it were. (Intoning) ‘I cannot enjoy the talk of worldly people.’ When a man becomes mad for God, he doesn’t enjoy money or such things.”

TRAILOKYA: “But, sir, if a man is to remain in the world, he needs money and he must also save. He has to give in charity and-”