The Cause of Master's illness

After a little while, as the doctor stood up to take his leave, Girish Chandra Ghosh entered the room and bowed low before the Master. Dr. Sarkar was pleased to see him and took his seat again.

DOCTOR (pointing to Girish): “Of course he would not come as long as I was here. No sooner am I about to leave than he enters the room.” Girish and Dr. Sarkar began to talk about the Science Association established by the latter.

MASTER: “Will you take me there one day?”

DOCTOR: “If you go there you will lose all consciousness at the sight of the wondrous works of God.”

MASTER: “Oh, indeed!”

DOCTOR (to Ginsh): “Whatever you may do, please do not worship him as God. You are turning the head of this good man.”

GIRISH: “‘What else can I do? Oh, how else shall I regard a person who has taken me across this ocean of the world, and what is still more, the ocean of doubt? There is nothing in him that I do not hold sacred. Can I ever look on even his excreta as filthy?”

DOCTOR: ‘This question of excreta doesn’t bother me. I too have no feeling of repugnance. Once a grocer’s child was brought to my office for treatment. His bowels moved there. All covered their noses with cloths; but I sat by his side for half an hour without putting a handkerchief to my nose. Besides, I cannot cover my nose when the scavenger passes by me with a tub on his head. No, I cannot do that. I know very well that there is no difference between a scavenger and myself. Why should I look down on him? Can’t I take the dust of his [meaning Sri Ramakrishna’s] feet? Look here,"

The doctor saluted Sri Ramakrishna and touched the Master’s feet with his forehead.

GIRISH: “Oh, the angels are saying, ‘Blessed, blessed be this auspicious moment!’ "

DOCTOR: “What is there to marvel at in taking the dust of a man’s feet? I can take the dust of everybody’s feet. Give me, all of you, the dust of your feet.“The doctor touched the feet of all the devotees.

NARENDRA (to the doctor): “We think of him [meaning the Master] as a person who is like God. Do you know, sir, what it is like? There is a point between the vegetable creation and the animal creation where it is very difficult to determine whether a particular thing is a vegetable or an animal. Likewise, there is a stage between the man-world and the God-world where it is extremely hard to say whether a person is a man or God.”

DOCTOR: “Well, my dear young friend, one cannot apply analogies to things divine.”

NARENDRA: “I don’t say that he is God. What I am saying is that he is a godlike man.”

Dr. Sarkar on expressing feelings

DOCTOR: “One should suppress one’s feelings in such a matter. It is bad to give vent to them. Alas! No one understands my own feelings. Even my best friend thinks of me as a stern and cruel person. Even people like you will perhaps one day throw me out after beating me with your shoes.”

MASTER: “Don’t say such a thing! They love you so much! They await your coming as eagerly as the bridesmaids in the bridal chamber await the coming of the groom.”

GIRISH: “Everyone has the greatest respect for you.”

DOCTOR: “My son and even my wife think of me as a hard-hearted person. My only crime is that I do not display my feelings.”

GIRISH: “In that case, sir, it would be wise for you to open the door of your heart, at least out of pity for your friends; for you see that your friends cannot otherwise understand you.”

DOCTOR: “Will you believe me when I say that my feelings get worked up even more than yours? (To Narendra) I shed tears in solitude.

(To Sri Ramakrishna) “Well, may I say something? When you are in ecstasy you place your foot on others’ bodies. That is not good.”

MASTER: “Do you think I know at that time that I am touching another with my foot?”

DOCTOR: “You feel that it is not the right thing to do, don’t you?”

MASTER: “How can I explain to you what I experience in samādhi? After coming down from that state I think, sometimes, that my illness may be due to samādhi. The thing is, the thought of God makes me mad. All this is the result of my divine madness. How can I help it?”

DOCTOR: “Now he accepts my view. He expresses regret for what he does. He is conscious that the act is sinful”

MASTER (to Narendra): “You are very clever. Why don’t you answer? Explain it all to the doctor.”

Cause of Master’s illness

GIRISH (to the doctor): “Sir, you are mistaken. He is not expressing regret for touching the bodies of his devotees during samādhi. His own body is pure, untouched by any sin.

That he touches others in this way is for their good. Sometimes he thinks that he may have got this illness by taking their sins upon himself.

“Think of your own case. Once you suffered from colic. Didn’t you have regrets at that time for sitting up and reading till very late at night? Does that prove that reading till the late hours of the night is, in itself, a bad thing? He [meaning Sri Ramakrishna] too may be sorry that he is ill. But that does not make him feel that it is wrong on his part to touch others for their welfare.”

Dr. Sarkar felt rather embarrassed and said to Girish: “I confess my defeat at your hands. Give me the dust of your feet.” He saluted Girish.

DOCTOR (to Narendra): “Whatever else one may say about him [meaning Girish], one must admit his intellectual powers.”

NARENDRA (to the doctor): “You may look at the thing from another standpoint. You can devote your life to scientific research without giving a thought to your health or comfort. But the Science of God is the grandest of all sciences. Isn’t it natural for him to risk his health to realize Him?”

DOCTOR: “All religious reformers, including Jesus, Chaitanya, Buddha, and Mohammed, were in the end filled with egotism. They all said, ‘Whatever I say is alone true.’ How shocking!”

GIRISH (to the doctor): “Now, sir, you are committing the same mistake.

You are accusing them all of egotism. You are finding fault with them. For that very reason you too can be accused of egotism.”

Dr. Sarkar remained silent.

NARENDRA (to the doctor): “We offer worship to him bordering on divine worship.” At these words the Master laughed like a child.