The Gospel of Râmakrishna (ed. Swami Abhedananda, 1907) · 5 · 2

Râmakrishna to Vidyâsâgara: Yes, he who has realized Brahman becomes silent. Discussions Brahman is silence.and argumentations exist so long as the realization of the Absolute does not come. If you melt butter in a pan over fire, how long does it make a noise? ​So long as there is water in it. When the water is evaporated it ceases to make further noise. Again if you throw a piece of dough in that hot clarified butter (Ghee) there will be noise until the cake is thoroughly fried. The soul of a seeker after Brahman may be compared to fresh butter. It is mixed with the water of egoism and worldliness. Discussions and argumentations (Vichâra) of a seeker are like the noise caused during the process of purification by the fire of knowledge. As the water of egoism and worldliness is evaporated and the soul becomes purer, all noise of debates and discussions ceases and absolute silence reigns in the state of Samâdhi.

Thus realizing the Absolute Brahman in silence, the soul comes down on the plane of Egoism of a saint.relativity to help others and to teach mankind the highest wisdom of Brahman. Then he talks again and makes a noise again, as the hot Ghee does when in contact with a piece of dough. Such a soul retains the sense of “I” simply to help mankind. Sankarâchârya and other spiritual teachers kept the purified sense of “I” without which all teaching is impossible.

The bee buzzes so long as it is outside the ​lotus and does not settle down in its heart to Sages teach for the good of other. drink of the honey. As soon as it tastes of the honey all buzzing is at an end. Similarly all noise of discussion ceases when the soul of the neophyte begins to drink the nectar of Divine Love in the Lotus Feet of the Almighty. Sometimes, however, the bee after being intoxicated by the honey makes a sweet humming sound. So the God-intoxicated soul sometimes speaks for the good of others.

A pitcher makes a noise when it is being filled with water in a tank. But all noise stops as soon as the pitcher is full to the brim. The noise will be heard again if some water of the pitcher be poured into another pitcher. (Here water means the water of the Divine Wisdom, and the soul of a wise man is the pitcher.)

The question now arises, how do we explain the relation between a perfect Guru and his Relation between Guru and disciples.disciples? The Guru must talk in order to drive away the ignorance of his disciples. This kind of discrimination, however, does no harm. The boiling butter after it is clarified ceases to make any noise; but if the raw cake made of flour is thrown into it, it will produce much noise be​cause of the water in the cake. The noise will continue until the cake is properly fried. The unfried cake maybe compared to the disciple, and the boiling butter to the Guru, the spiritual teacher. The sound of teaching is heard so long as the disciple is not perfectly enlightened.

Srî Râmakrishna continued: So long as the individual soul has the slightest attachment to Non-attachment. the world of senses and desires it cannot attain to Brahma-Jnâna. He is a Jnâni who relinquishes all worldly desires and sense-pleasures by saying, "not this, not this," and then realizes the Supreme Brahman in Samâdhi.

A Jnâni knows that all phenomena of the universe which are subject to evolution, whether physical or mental, are within the realm of Mâyâ; they are unreal and transitory like the objects of vision in a dream. Therefore as one climbs the stairway step by step until the roof is reached, so he rises above them step by step, saying "not this," until he reaches the Absolute Brahman, which is the roof of the phenomenal universe.

A Jnâni goes so far as to realize that Brahman is the Absolute Reality and all phenomena unreal. A Vijnâni, however, goes farther and ​realizes more. He sees that the roof and the steps are all made of the same substance. Few All phenomena unreal.can stay long on the roof (the realm of the Absolute). All those who reach this state of Samâdhi must return to lower planes, just as no one can sing on "Si," the highest note of the gamut, for a long time. The sense of "I" drags one down. But when a Vijnâni returns from Samâdhi to a lower plane of consciousness and perceives the world of relativity, he sees the Brahman everywhere, and that the same Absolute Being appears as Jiva and all the phenomena of the universe. He realizes, "I am Brahman," "I am He."

There are various paths which lead to the realization of the Absolute Brahman. The Jnâna-Yoga and Bhakti-Yoga.path of Jnâni is as good as that of a Bhakta. Jnâna-Yoga is true; so is Bhakti-Yoga. There is another path of Bhakti mixed with Jnâna which is equally true. So long as the sense of "I, me, mine" remains in the devotee, the path of Bhakti is easier for him.

A Vijnâni, however, realizes the Absolute Brahman as the unchangeable Reality of the universe, firm and immutable like the Mount Sumeru. It is beyond all activity of Mâyâ. ​He also sees that the world has evolved out of the three Gunas (Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas) of the Prakriti or Cosmic energy.

Mâyâ or Prakriti consists of Vidyâ and Avidyâ. Vidyâ is that energy which leads Godward. Mâyâ.It manifests itself as discrimination (Viveka), non-attachment (Vairâgya), devotion and love of God (Bhakti, Prema). But Avidyâ leads to worldliness. This energy expresses itself as various passions, desire for wealth and honor, ambition, work with attachment, selfishness. All these Vidyâ and Avidyâ forces rise from the Divine Energy of Brahman—they cannot affect the Brahman. The Vijnâni Vijnâni and Bhakta.realizes that the same Absolute Brahman appears as the Personal God (Iswara), that He who is beyond all attributes is also the Personal God with all attributes and blessed qualities. The Vijnâni sees that Jiva (individual ego), phenomenal world, mind, intellect, Bhakti, dispassion, knowledge—all these are the glory of the supreme Personal Deity. If these manifestations of the Divine Glory did not exist, who would have worshipped Him as the Lord of the universe? If a rich man does not possess wealth and property, but becomes bankrupt, nobody will call him rich. ​Do you not see how beautiful is this world? How many varieties of phenomena—the Sun, moon, stars, various kinds of animals and vegetables, things large and small, good and bad, some men with great powers, others with few.

Vidyâsâgara: Is it then true, Revered Sir, that God has given to some greater powers than to others? Is the Lord partial?

Bhagavân: The Lord dwells as the all-pervading Being (Vibhu) equally within all living creatures great or small, nay, even in the smallest ant or animalcule. The difference lies in the manifestation of powers (Sakti), otherwise Unity in diversity. how will it be possible for one strong man to defeat ten men in a hand-to-hand fight, while a weakling will run away from the presence of an ordinary mortal?

If there were no difference in powers, why should people respect and honor you? You have no monstrosity, like two horns on the forehead, that people will come to see you out of curiosity. You have more compassion, more wisdom than others, therefore people come to see you and pay respects to you. Do you not think so?

There is nothing in mere book-learning. ​One should study books simply to find out the ways by which He (the Absolute Book-learning. Brahman) can be realized.

A holy man had a manuscript with him. Some one asked what it contained. The saint opened it and showed that on every page was written the sacred formula "Om Râma," the holy name of the Lord.

Take the sacred book of Bhagavad Gitâ. What does it teach? If you wish to know it repeat the name "Gitâ" ten times in quick True meaning of Gita.succession—"Gi-tâ, gi-tâ, gi-," etc. It will sound like "tâgi, tâgi," which has the same meaning as the Sanskrit word "Tyâgi," that is, one who has renounced everything of the world for the sake of the Lord. One truth which Bhagavad Gitâ teaches is this: "O Jiva, giving up attachment to objects and pleasures of the world, struggle to realize God." The mind of a man (whether a saint or a householder) must be free from all attachment to the world. Then and then alone the heart will be purified and the Absolute will be realized.

Chaitanya Deva[6] (God Incarnate of Nuddea), ​when travelling on a pilgrimage in the Deccan (Southern India), saw in one place a man reading aloud the texts of the Gitâ. At a little distance another man, with unrestrainable tears running down his cheeks, was listening. Chaitanya Deva asked him whether he understood the meaning of the texts. The poor man replied: "My Lord, I do not understand one word of what the Pandit is reading." Chaitanya Deva questioned him: "Why are you weeping, then?" The devotee answered: "I see the chariot of Arjuna, and the Blessed Lord Krishna is speaking before him. This Divine vision brings tears of love to my eyes."

Srî Râmakrishna continued: You may ask why does a Vijnâni prefer to have Bhakti (love and devotion)? The answer is—Because it is difficult for one to be free from the sense of "I." In the state of Nirvikalpa Samâdhi[7] it may vanish for the time being, but it comes back again; while for ordinary individuals it is almost impossible to eliminate this sense of "I, me and mine." However many times you may cut ​off the branches of the Aswatthwa tree, so long as the root is alive new branches will sprout; Sense of "I". similarly you may try to get rid of the sense of "I," but so long as the root is alive it will sprout up again and again. Even after acquiring Brahma-Jnâna the emancipated soul is forced back to the plane of this "Aham" sense of "I."

If you dream of a tiger you will tremble in every limb and your heart will throb violently. When you wake up you may realize that it was a mere dream, but still your heart will go on palpitating all the same. Similarly the sense of "I" remains even after the realization of the Absolute.

Thus, if the sense of "I" is the cause of all troubles and it is impossible to be free from it, let it stay on as "I," the servant of the Lord.

Râma Chandra (the God Incarnate) once asked his great devotee Hanumân: "My son, in what relation do you regard me?" The devotee replied: "When I think of myself as embodied, I am Thy servant and Thou art the Lord. When I think of myself as the Jiva (Ego) I am Thy part and Thou art the Universal Whole; but when I think of myself as the ​Atman, I am one with Thee. Then I realize 'I am Thou and Thou art I.'"

If the sense of "I" clings to one so persistently, let it remain like that of a true Bhakta who thinks of himself as the servant of the Lord.

"I" and "mine"—these two are the signs of Ajnânam, ignorance. My house, my wealth, Ajnânam and Jnânam.my learning, my glory, all these are mine—this idea proceeds from ignorance of one's true Self, but Jnânam or divine knowledge means that state where Jiva realizes: "O Lord, Thou art the Master of all; house, family, children, friends, relatives, nay, whatever exists in the universe belongs to Thee." "Whatever is mine is Thine." "Nothing belongs to me"—such ideas rise from true knowledge.

It is good for everyone to remember that after death nothing of this world will remain with us. We have come here simply to perform certain Karma and gain some experience. Just as country people come to a big city like Calcutta to do some work, so we have come to fulfil our desires according to the tendencies with which we were born.

A rich man has given the charge of his beau​tiful garden to his Sircar (steward). When Parable of the rich man and his sircar. visitors come to see the garden the Sircar waits on them attentively. He shows them the beautiful parts of the garden with luxurious fruit-trees, flower-beds, palace-like buildings, lakes, etc., saying. "These are, gentlemen, our mango-trees. This is our orchard; this is our lake; how beautiful are our flowers! Here you see is our drawing-room with most expensive furniture, fine paintings by the best artists—all these belong to us." The same Sircar may be found fault with and dismissed by his master at any time with peremptory order to leave the garden at once. He will not be allowed sufficient time to pack up his trunk and take his own baggage with him. Such is the miserable plight of those who lay claim upon things which do not in reality belong to them.

Everything belongs to the Lord. It is ridiculous for man to say, "I am Kartâ" (the doer), "All these things are mine."

On two occasions the Lord cannot help smiling:The Lord smiles on two occasions. A person is taken seriously ill and is about to die. The physician says to the mother of the patient: "Mother, there is no cause for fear. I shall save ​your son's life." The physician forgets that the will of the Lord is at the root of every event of life and death. The Lord then smiles, thinking: "How foolish this man must be who boasts of saving the life of his patient when the latter is dying under My will." The Lord smiles again when two brothers are engaged in partitioning their estate. They take a measuring-tape and, putting it out across the land, say: "This portion is mine, and that is yours." The Lord smiles, thinking: "The whole Universe belongs to Me, but these foolish brothers say: 'This portion is mine and that is yours.'"

"O Lord, Thou makest everything and Thou art my nearest and dearest One. This house, this family, these relatives, these friends of mine, nay, this whole universe belongs to Thee, O Lord." Such is the nature of true Jnâna (knowledge). But "I do everything, I am the doer. My house, my family, my children, my friends, everything belongs to me"; all this proceeds from Ajnâna (ignorance).

A Guru was giving this instruction to his disciple: "The Lord alone is thine own and no one The Lord alone is thine own. else belongs to thee." The disciple replied: "But my mother and my wife, who take such good care of me, who love ​me and feel extremely unhappy when they do not see me, are also my own, are they not?" The Guru answered: "In this you are mistaken. I will show you that none of them truly cares for you. Never believe for a moment that your mother or wife will sacrifice her life for your sake. You can try and see. Go home and feign excruciating pain and I will come and show you." The disciple acted accordingly. Doctors were called in, but no one could afford relief. The mother of the patient was sorrowing and sighing. The wife and children were weeping. At this moment the Sannyâsin (Guru) appeared. "The disease is of a serious nature," he said, "and I do not see any chance of the patient's recovery unless some one come forward to give his or her life for the patient." At this all of them looked aghast. The Sannyâsin, addressing the old mother of the sick man, said: "To live or to die will be the same thing to you, if in your old age you lose your son who earns for himself and for you all. If you can give your life in exchange for his, I can save your son. If you, as mother, cannot make this sacrifice for him, who else in the world will care to do it?" The old woman stammered through her tears: "Revered father, I am ready to do ​anything you order for the sake of my son. But the thing is, my own life—and what is my life in comparison to that of my son? The thought—what will become of my little ones after my death, makes me a coward. Unfortunate that I am, these little ones are in my way!"