About Nityagopal

Narendra sang them for M.:

Let us go back once more, O mind, to our own abode! Here in this foreign land of earth Why should we wander aimlessly in stranger’s guise? These living beings round about, and the five elements; Are strangers to you, all of them; none is your own. Why do you thus forget yourself, In love with strangers, O my mind? Why do you thus forget your own? Ascend the path of Truth, O mind! Unflaggingly climb, With Love as the lamp to light your way. As your provision for the journey, bring with you The virtues, carefully concealed; for, like two highwaymen, Greed and delusion wait to rob you of your wealth. And keep beside you constantly, As guards to shelter you from harm, Calmness of mind and self-control. Companionship with holy men will be for you A welcome rest-house by the road; There rest your weary limbs awhile, asking your way, If ever you should be in doubt, of him who watches there.

If anything along the path should frighten you, Then loudly shout the name of the Lord;

For He is Ruler of that road, And even Death must bow to Him.

O Lord, must all my days pass by so utterly in vain?

Down the path of hope I gaze with longing, day andnight.

Thou art the Lord of all the worlds, and I but a beggar here;

How can I ask of Thee to come and dwell within my heart?

My poor heart’s humble cottage door is standing open wide; Be gracious, Lord, and enter there but once, and quench its thirst!

M

What did he say after listening to your songs?

NARENDRA: “He went into samādhi. He said to Ram Babu: ‘Who is this boy? How well he sings!’ He asked me to come again.”

M

Where did you see him next?

NARENDRA: “At Rājmohan’s house. The third visit was at Dakshineswar again. During that visit he went into samādhi and began to praise me as if I were God. He said to me, ‘O Narayana, you have assumed this body for my sake.’ But please don’t tell this to anybody else.”

M

What else did he say?

Narendra

“He said: ‘You have assumed this body for my sake. I asked the Divine Mother, “Mother, unless I enjoy the company of some genuine devotees completely free from ‘woman and gold’, how shall I live on earth?” '

Then he said to me, ‘You came to me at night woke me up, and said, “Here I am!”’ But I did not know anything of this. I was sound asleep in our Calcutta house.”

M

In other words, you may be both present and absent at the same time. It is like God, who is both formless and endowed with form.

Narendra

But you must not tell this to anyone else. At Cossipore he transmitted his power to me.

M: “Didn’t it happen when you used to meditate before a lighted fire under a tree at the Cossipore garden house?”

Narendra

Yes. One day, while meditating, I asked Kāli to hold my hand. Kāli said to me, ‘When I touched your body I felt something like an electric shock coming to my body.’ “But you must not tell this to anybody here. Give me your promise.”

M: “There is a special purpose in his transmission of power to you. He will accomplish much work through you. One day the Master, wrote on a piece of paper, ‘Naren will teach people.’”

Narendra

But I said to him, ‘I won’t do any such thing.’ Thereupon he said, ‘Your very bones will do it.’ He has given me charge of Sarat. Sarat is now yearning for God; the Kundalini is awakened in him.

M: “He must be careful that dead leaves do not accumulate there. Perhaps you remember what the Master used to say: ‘In a lake the fish make holes so that they may rest there. But if dead leaves accumulate in the holes, the fish do not go there.’ "

Narendra

The Master used to call me Narayana. When he was ill he would not allow me to pour water to wash his hands. At Cossipore he said: ‘Now the key is in my hands. He will give up his body when he knows who he is.’

M; “Didn’t he say it when you were in nirvikalpa samādhi?”

Narendra

Yes. At the time it seemed to me I had no body. I felt only my face. “I was studying law at home to prepare for the examinations. Suddenly I said to myself, ‘What am I doing?’ "

M: “Didn’t it happen when the Master was at Cossipore?”

Narendra

Yes. Like an insane person I ran out of our house.

He asked me, ‘What do you want?’ I replied, ‘I want to remain immersed in samādhi.’ He said: ‘What a small mind you have! Go beyond samādhi! Samādhi is a very trifling thing.’ "

M: “Yes, he used to say that vijnāna is the stage after jnāna. It is like going up and down the stairs after reaching the roof.”

Narendra

Kāli has a craving for knowledge. I scold him for that. Is knowledge so easy to get? Let his bhakti first mature. The Master told Tārak at Dakshineswar that emotion and bhakti are by no means the last word.