CHAPTER VII

THE DAKSHINESWAR TEMPLE,—MARCH, 1883

Sunday, the 11th of March, 1883, being the second day of the bright fortnight of the month of Phalguna, the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna are celebrating the anniversary of his birthday in the Temple of Dakshineswar.

It is the season of spring—trees and creepers have put forth new leaves. The morning service is just finished in the temples. The musicians are playing their sweet morning tunes in the Nahavat. The thought of the Master's holy nativity has set a-flutter the hearts of the devotees, and the very air seems surcharged with bliss.

The devotees are assembling in the Temple by groups. When M. arrives, though it is yet early morning, he finds the Master conversing smilingly with Rakhal, Bhavanath and the latter's friend, Kali-Krishna, in the eastern veranda. M. prostrates himself before the Master.

Sri Ramakrishna: (to M.) So you are come! (To the devotees) 'God cometh not where shyness, hatred and fear reign.' Immense will be the joy to-day; but those who will not sing and dance in the intoxication of the Lord's name will never realise God. Why should one be afraid or feel shy to take the name of God? Now sing.

Bhavanath and his friend Kali-Krishna sing:

"Blessed, oh thrice blessed, is this day of joy! We have united to spread Thy true religion over all Ind, O Lord!

"Every heart Thou hast made Thy abode and every corner Thy holy name hath filled. Lo! Thy devotees sing Thy praise!

"Wealth, progeny or fame we seek not; naught else but Thee do we disire. Thee only Thy eager people seek, O Lord;

"We have taken refuge in Thy blessed feet, O Lord; why should we fear danger or death? Behold, the mine of immortal bliss is at hand,—Oh blessed, blessed be Thy name!"

The Master is sitting with folded hands, listening intently to the song, his whole mind lifted to the region of the Divine; and he remains long immersed in meditation. The mind of the Master is like unto a dry match which strikes fire at the very first rubbing. But the mind of the ordinary man, polluted with worldliness, is like a damp match which does not strike fire even if it be rubbed a thousand times.

A little while after, Kali-Krishna whispers something to Bhavanath, and, after saluting the Master, rises to depart. Sri Ramakrishna asks in astonishment, "Where are you going?"

Bhavanath: (to the Master) Sir, he is going on a little business.

Sri Ramakrishna: What business?

Bhava: He is going to attend the Baranagore Working-men's Institute.

Kalikrishna departs.

Sri Ramakrishna: How unlucky! To-day he could enjoy so much the bliss of the Lord's name,—but it is not in his lot!

II.

It is nearly nine in the morning. The Master is slightly indisposed and therefore abstains from taking his usual ablution in the Ganges. The disciples draw a few jars of water and bathe him in the south-eastern veranda. He requires a pot of water to be set aside, which he afterwards pours on his head.

After bathing , Sri Ramakrishna sweetly recites the holy names of the Lord, and, having put on a pure cloth, walks across the metalled quadrangle towards the Kali temple. The Lord 's names cease not on his hallowed lips, and his eyes wear an aimless look, even like those of a bird when it hatches its eggs. At the temple, the Master salutes and worships the Mother; but his worship has no method,—now he offers scent and flowers at Her feet, now on his own head. At last he touches the offered flowers to his forehead and ask Bhavanath to follow him with a green cocoanut wich has been offered to the Mother.

On his way back the Master visits the Radhakanta temple, or 'Vishnughar,' as he calls it, which stands on his right, and bows to the ground at the sight of the sacred images of the Divine Lovers^*. On his left stand the twelve temples of Siva,—Him, too he salutes from a distance.

When the Master reaches his room, he finds Ram, Nityagopal, Kedar Chatterjee and other devotees already assembled there. They make their obeisance to him and are welcomed with queries about their welfare. To one of them, who is about twenty-four years old and yet unmarried, the Master turns and inquires, "Will you eat anything?" "Yes," he replies, in a child-like tone. He lives always in the region of divine moods, visiting Sri Ramakrishna alone or in the company of Ram, and is much beloved by him on account of his high spiritual state which the master often designates as that of the Paramahamsa.

After the devotee has taken refreshments, the Master leads him to the western porch beside the Ganges and talks to him.

Sri Ramakrishna: Do you go there?

Devotee: (in a child-like tone) Yes, I do. She takes me.

The safeguards of a Sadhu's life.

Sri Ramakrishna: Beware, O Sadhu! Visit her cautiously and not often, lest you should fall. Woman and gold,—even these are Maya, and a Sadhu has to be far off from woman. All lose themselves there, and even Brahma and Vishnu are struggling helplessly in that disastrous whirlpool!

^* Radha and Krishna.

The devotee listens with rapt attention.

The talk has reference to a lady about twenty-three years old, who is much devoted to the Master and often visits him. On seeing the rare spiritual manifestations of the devotee she has learnt to love him as a son and often invites him to her house.

M: (aside) How strange! The Master often affirms that this devotee has reached the stage of the Paramahamsa,—why does he then apprehend any danger for him? Oh, what a rigorous discipline he imposes on Sadhus! He fears that too much familiarity with women may drag them down from their exalted spirituality. And, indeed, unless this high ideal is maintained in all its purity, how can ordinary individuals aspire for salvation? The lady is very devout, and yet he is afraid. I see now why Sri Chaitanya laid such a heavy punishment on his disciple, Chhota Haridas; being a sannyasin he spoke to a widow devotee against the injunctions of his master, for which Sri Chaitanya renounced him for good. How rigorous these diciplines of the Sannyasin's life! But how deeply Sri Ramakrishna loves this devotee! Else why should he warn him against any possible danger that may assail him in the future?...

"Beware, O Sadhu!"...The devotees hear this solemn warning, and are hushed in awful silence.

III.

Sri Ramakrishna comes to the north-eastern veranda. Amongst the devotees present there is a resident of Dakshineswar who is a student of the Vedanta. He is discussing the doctrine of the Logos with Sj. Kedar Chatterjee.

Resident: The Eternal Word is ever vibrating within and without.

Sri Ramakrishna: But the Word alone will not do, there must be a Substance corresponding to it. Can your name alone give me pleasure? I connot have it in full measure till I see you.

Resident; That Word, that Eternal Word itself is Brahman.

Sri Ramakrishna: (to Kedar) Oh! do you see? His is the doctrine of the Rishis. They said to Ramachandra, 'We know you, O Rama, as the son of Dasaratha. Bharadwaja and other Rishis may worship you as the Divine Incarnation, but we seek the Absolute, the Akhanda Satchidananda.' At this Rama smiled and passed on.

Kedar: These Rishis could not recognise him as the Avatar—they were fools.

Harmony of religions.

Sri Ramakrishna: (solemnly) Don't you say so! People take to things according to their taste and capacity of digestion, so to speak. The mother dresses the same fish differently for different children. For one she prepares polao, but the polao may not agree with the others, so she makes soup of it. There are again other tastes. Some relish fried fish, and others acid preparations. [All laugh.]

"The Rishis were philosophical, hence they sought to realise God as the Absolute, the Akhanda Satchidananda. But Bhaktas want the Divine Incarnation so that they may enjoy the sweetness of Bhakti. The sight of Him dispels the darkness of the mind. It is written in the Puranas that when Ramachandra entered the assembly hall a hundred suns, as it were, shone out! Why then did the courtiers not get scorched? The reply is, his light is not a material light: it brought into bloom the lotus-hearts of all who were in the hall, even as the lotus blossoms when the sun rises!"

The Master is standing as he speaks. The last words are scarcely out of his lips when his whole mind is drawn inside, and he loses himself in Samadhi.

Has the lotus of his heart opened its petals to the divine vision of the Lord? He stands motionless, completely lost to the external world, like a figure on canvas. But his countenance is lit with a divine light, and is smiling. And the devotees feast their eyes in speechless wonder upon this blessed vision of the kingdom of love, this beatific state of Samadhi.

After, a long time he comes down from the superconscious plane. He heaves a deep sigh and repeats the name of Rama, and every word rains nectar. He then sits down surrounded by the devotees who are intently looking at him.

The mystery of the Divine Incaranation.

Sri Ramakrishna: When an Avatar comes, the average man does not know him. He comes in secret and only a few Antaranga disciples recognise him. That Rama was Brahman Himself, and the perfect Divine Incarnation, was known only to twelve Rishis; others looked upon him merely as the son of Dasaratha.

"Can every one realise the Absolute? But his is the perfect devotion, who, having realised God as the Absolute, remains in the relative plane to enjoy the Divine Leela. Only after visiting the Queen in England can you rightly talk of her ways and manners, then only will your story of the Queen be correct. Bharadwaja and other Rishis prayed to Rama: 'Thou art, O Rama, verily the Absolute Brahman incarnated before us as man; and Thou appearest as human, because Thou hast shrouded Thyself with Thy Maya.' These Rishis were extremely devoted to Rama and theirs was perfect devotion."

IV.

In speechless wonder, the devotees listen to the revelation of the mystery of Divine Incarnation? And some of them think, 'Strange it is. The Absolute Brahman, Whom the Vedas declare as beyond speech and mind, appears before us as a man, three and a half cubits high! But it must be so, since Sri Ramakrishna himself says it. Had it been otherwise, why should the very utterance of the name of Rama plunge this great soul into Samadhi? Verily he was enjoying the divine beauty of Rama in the lotus of his heart.'

In a short time, Manomohan and Navai, with a party from Konnagore, enter the Temple Garden, chanting the praise of the Lord. When they arrive at the north eastern veranda the Master joins them and sings and dances in the intoxication of divine love.

When in the joy of the singing, his mind soars into Samadhi and the devotees decorate him with large flower galands, he looks verily like Sri Gauranga lost in the depths of Samadhi. For, like him, our Master also manifests the three different states of consciousness: sometimes he is in the internal mood, completely unconscious of the external world, and appears like a stock or a stone; sometimes, again, he is in the semi-external mood, when, filled with divine love, he dances; and at other times he has the external mood, in which he sings the praise of the Lord with the devotees.

The Master stands facing towards the west, his mind uplifted to the superconscious plane. A devotee is supporting him that he may not fall down. And others surrounding him are singing the glory of God to the sound of Khols and cymbals. His eyes see not; but his countenance—the very image of the moon—is suffused with love divine, and the devotees look on unsatiated, drinking in the celestial beauty of that blissful image.

The day has advanced. The Master has come down to the plane of normal consciousness. And the holy chant has now ceased. After a short rest, Sri Ramakrishna puts on a new yellow-coloured cloth and sits on his small cot. The devotees find no end to the heart-gladdening, lustrous and sublime beauty of this blissful great soul,—a beauty which is pure, and rare even amongst gods, and, withal, supremely fascinating. Verily there is no end to this.

The noonday meal is over and Sri Ramakrishna is taking his rest on the small cot. The crowd in his room is gradually growing and has overflowed into the verandas. Kedar, Suresh, Ram, Manomohan, Girindra, Bhavanath, M. Rakhal and many other devotees are seated on the floor, gazing constantly at the Master. Rakhal's father is sitting among them and also a Vaishnava Goswami, to whom the Master is addressing his words. Our Master would always bow down before the Goswamis and even prostrate himself sometimes.

Sri Ramakrishna: Well, what do you say—what is the way?

Goswami: His Name alone will do. The Holy Name is very effective in this Kali Yuga.

Sri Ramakrishna: Yes, no doubt the Holy Name is very effective; but is it sufficient without love? The soul must hunger for God. What will it avail that I repeat His name, if my mind is attached to Kamini-Kanchana? Merely muttering magic incantations will not heal a scorpion or a spider bite. You must also apply the smoke of burning cow-dung^*.

Purity and Love of God are essential.

Goswami: What about Ajamil then? Ajamil was a great sinner; there was no sin he did not commit. But only because in his dying hour he called his son by his name of 'Narayana' was he saved.

Sri Ramakrishna: Perchance he had accumulated great merit in his previous birth. Besides, it is said that he practised penance afterwards.

^* The Master here mentions a simple recipe of the village housewife for scorpion bite.

"You may also explain it thus: Those were Ajamil's last moments. An elephant besmears his body with dust and mud immediately after his bath. But the elephant remains clean after the bath if his keeper puts him into the stall at once.

"Man becomes purged of his sins at once by uttering His name. But the next moment he takes to various sinful acts,—he has not enough strength of mind to vow that he will never more commit any sin. Ablution in the Ganges takes away all sins, but little does it avail. The story goes that the sins lie in ambush in the trees on the river bank, so that when the man returns from his bath, those old sins may jump down on his shoulders. [All laugh.] So you see, before he has proceeded but a few steps, they are on him again,—they have possessed him.

"Therefore always take the name of the Lord, but pray to Him at the same time that you may attain love for Him, and that your attachment for money, fame and physical comforts, which are but transient, may grow less and less.

"If one is earnest and sincere, any religon can take him to God. The Vaishnavas, the Shaktas, the Vedantins, and the Brahmajnanis,—all will equally attain to God. And so again the Mussalmans and the Christians. Yes, every one will reach the Lord, if he is sincere. Some there are who quarrel, saying, 'There is no hope for you unless you worship our Sri Krishna,' 'There is no hope for you unless you worship our Mother Kali,' or 'There is no hope for you unless you accept Christianity.'

All religions are true.

"To say that one's religion alone is true and that others are false is dogmatism. And it is a bad attitude. For, various are the ways that lead unto the Lord!

"Some again maintain that God has form,—that He cannot be formless. And they quarrel about it. A Vaishnava quarrels with an Adwaitin.

"One can speak of Him with authority only when he has seen Him. And he who has seen Him well knows that He is both with and without form, and very much more than can be expressed in words.

"Once some blind men happened to come upon what they were told was an elephant. They were asked what they thought it was like. So they began to feel the animal with their hands, and one of them said it was like a pillar,—he had felt only a leg. 'It is like a winnowing fan,' said another, for he had felt one of its ears only! And others again who had felt its trunk or stomach spoke of it in different ways. Even so he who has seen the Lord knows only of that aspect of Him that he has seen, and he thinks, 'Such is God and nothing else.'

"Once a man came to his friends and said, 'Halloo I saw a beautiful red chameleon under that tree.' 'Why red?' exclaimed one of them, 'I myself was there before you; I found it green.' Then rejoined another, 'I know full well it is neither red nor green. I was there before you both and saw with my own eyes that it is blue.' At that some others asserted that it was yellow or brown, and so on till they fell out and every one insisted that he alone was right. Some one came by and enquired what the quarrel was about. When the cause of their dispute was told him, he said, 'Lo, I myself live under that very tree and I know the animal well. All of you are right; it is indeed sometimes red, sometimes green, at other times blue and so on. And I have found that sometimes it has no colour at all.'

(To the Goswami) "So how can you say that He is only 'Sakara'? True, He incarnates Himself in a human body as Sri Krishna, and He appears before His devotees in various forms. But it is also true that He is a Nirakara Akhanda Satchidananda. The Vedas have declared that He is both with and without form, both with and without attributes.

Reconciliation of Sakara and Nirakara.

"Do you know what it is like? The Absolute may be compared to an infinite ocean; and as extreme cold freezes the waters of the ocean into ice and sets it afloat in masses of various forms, so under the cooling influence, so to say, of Bhakti, the Infinite reduces Himself to the finite and appears before His devotees as a Being with form. The Bhakta loves to see Him with form. Again, when the Sun of knowledge shines forth, these divine forms like masses of ice melt away, and nothing but water remains,—water above, below and around, water everywhere as before. Hence there is this prayer in the Srimad Bhagavatam, 'Thou art, O Lord, both Sakara^* and Nirakara.^† Thou art indeed appearing before us as a man, but the Vedas have declared Thee as beyond speech and mind.'

"But then, you may truly say that for some He is eternally Sakara. There are places where the ice never melts,—it becomes crystal."

Kedar: In the Bhagavatam, Vyasa sought forgiveness of God for three transgressions. In one passage he says, 'O Lord, Thou art beyond speech and mind. But I have narrated Thy Leela and spoken of Thy forms only,—for this forgive me.'

Sri Ramakrishna: Yes, God is indeed both Sakara and Nirakara. Of Him, none can find any end.

VI.

Rakhal's father is sitting amongst the devotees. After the decease of Rakhal's mother he married again. He comes to Dakshineswar from time to time to inquire after his son, who has been staying there with the Master; and he is not much opposed to this arrangement. He is a rich man, owning many lands, and is always involved in litigation. He therefore finds it profitable to pay occasional visits to the temple, where he can meet many lawyers and magistrates amongst the visitors to Sri Ramakrishna and be benefited by their valuable worldly counsels.

^* 'Sakara' =with form;

^† 'Nirakara'=without form.

The Master is casting occasional glance at him. He earnestly desires that Rakhal should be allowed to remain permanently with him at Dakshineswar. He says,

"Ah! how beautiful Rakhal's nature has become now. Look at him; you will find, his lips are quivering now and then,—he is inwardly repeating the name of the Lord.

The nature of the Ever-perfect.

"These boys belong to the class of the Ever-perfect. Knowledge of God is innate in them, and when they become a little older they feel how dangerous it is to come in contact with the world. The Vedas tell the story of the 'Homa' bird which ever lives and soars in the highest regions of the heavens and never descends to the earth. When it lays its egg, the egg falls down and keeps falling and falling and is hatched in its descent. And the fledgling comes out and goes on falling, until it grows its wings and opens its eyes and discovers that it will fall on the earth and die. Therefore the moment it sights the earth it soars upward, and up and up it goes till it reaches its mother. Its one aim is to reach its mother.

"These boys are indeed of the same type; even from childhood, they are afraid of the world, and their one thought is how to go back to the Mother, how to realise God.

"You may argue, 'Being born of worldly parents and living amongst the worldly-minded how can they possess so much Bhakti and Jnana?' It can be explained in this way: A gram seed produces nothing but gram, even if it be sown on a dirty spot. And that gram can serve various useful purposes. Would it produce another kind of plant because it was sown on a dirty spot?

"Rakhal's nature has become beautiful now a days. And why should it not be so? If a yam is good, its shoots also become good. [All laugh.] As is the father, so is the son."

M.: (aside to Girindra) How nicely he explained the relation of Sakara and Nirakara! The Vaishnavas insist on Sakara alone: is it not so?

Girindra: I know. They are one-sided.

M.: Did you understand what he said about 'Eternal Form' and 'crystal'? I could not thoroughly grasp it.

Sri Ramakrishna: (to M.) Halloo, what are you talking about?

M. and Girindra smile and observe silence.

Brinda^*: (to Ramlal) O Ramlal, first give this man his meal; you may give me mine afterwards.

Sri Ramakrishna: Has he not yet given Brinda's meal to her?

VII.

It is afternoon. Devotees are singing the praise of the Mother in the Panchavati. The Master has joined them,—his joy to-day knows no bounds. They sing:

"My mind was hovering like a kite in the firmament of Mother's hallowed feet, when came a gust of sin's foul wind and struck it down to earth.

"Maya disturbed its even balance by drawing down one side and I could fly the kite no more It became entangled in the string of love for wife and children and was rent in twain.

"It lost its crest of knowledge and reeled down when I flew it up. How could it fly, indeed, deprived of its head? Its six companions^‡ therefore won the race.

"It wore the ties of Love of its free will; but when the play began it lost its head. Nareshchandra rues this game of smiles and tears; it were better, he thinks, had he not come at all"

Again:

"The bee of my mind has lost itself in the blue lotus of Shyama's blessed feet; lo, it has lost itself in the blue lotus of Kali's hallowed feet!

"The world's sweets that dwell in the bosom of Desire's flowers can no more allure it with their false charms.

"The golden bee of my heart has lost itself at the feet of the Mother—like has mingled with like! and five principles^† and Prakriti have fled!

^* She was a maid-servant of the Temple.

‡ The six passions,—lust, anger, greed, infatuation, vanity and jealousy.

^† Five principles,—earth, water, fire, air and ether.

"Kamalakanta's hopes are realised at last. What cares he for weal or woe, now that the sea of his joy is heaving high?"

And they sing:

"My Mother has made a nice machine, barely five feet high. She displays infinite beautiful tricks with this little device.

"She sits hidden in the heart of the toy, pulling the leading string. The toy plays and dances and thinks, it acts of its own free will: knows not who pulls the string!

"The machine that has known Her ceases to be a machine. Lo, some machines there are that bind the Mother Herself with the string of their love!

Great is the joy of the devotees. When there is a little pause in the singing, Sri Ramakrishna rises and walks towards his room with M., where many devotees are still lingering. When he comes to the Bakultala, Trailokya meets and salutes him.

Sri Ramakrishna: They are singing at Panchavati. Will you not go there?

Trailokya: What is the use?

Sri Ramakrishna: Why, you may enjoy it.

Trailokya: I have been there already.

Sri Ramakrishna: All right.

VIII.

It is nearly six in the evening. The Master is seated in the south-eastern veranda with the devotees.

Sri Ramakrishna: A Sadhu that has renounced the world will of course take the name of the Lord, for he has nothing else to do. If he always thinks of God, there is nothing astonishing in it. On the other hand, if he fails to think of God and take His name, there is every chance of people condemning him.

The greatness of the householder devotee.

"But if a man of the world takes the name of the Lord, it is certainly a great credit. King Janaka was a very clever man. He wielded two swords at a time—the sword of knowledge and the sword of action. He possessed the fulness of the knowledge of God and at the same time attended to the duties of the world.

"An unchaste woman attends minutely to all the details of her household work, but her mind is ever fixed on her secret lover.

"Always keep the company of the Sadhus; they can introduce you to God."

Kedar: Yes, sir, the Great Ones come for the salvation of men, just as a locomotive engine draws and takes along with it a long train of carriages, or as a lake or river quenches the thirst of countless animals.

The devotees are now preparing to return home. They salute Sri Ramakrishna, bowing to the ground and take the dust of his sacred feet. When Bhavanath approaches, the Master says, "Do not go to-day. The very sight of you is inspiring."

And Bhavanath, a fair-complexioned, handsome youth, about twenty years old, has not yet entered the world. The very mention of the name of the Lord brings tears into his eyes, and Sri Ramakrishna looks upon him as the very embodiment of Narayana.