CHAPTER IX.

THE HOUSE OF SJ. BALARAM BASU,—APRIL, 1883

Saturday, the 7th of April, 1883. Sri Ramakrishna is at the house of his devotee, Balaram, in Calcutta. He arrived here in the morning and took his dinner. Narendra, Rakhal, Bhavanath and a few other devotees were also invited to the dinner. For the Master often says to Balaram, "Entertain them,—it will be equal to feeding a legion of Sadhus."

It is about 1 P. M. The Master is seated in the north-eastern apartment of Balaram's parlour with Narendra, Rakhal, Bhavanath, Balaram and M.

The Master is talking about a dramatic performance, he had been to a few days before at Keshab Sen's. The play was 'Nava-Brindavan,' in which Keshab himself took the part of 'Powhari Baba'. Narendra also had joined in the performance.

Sri Ramakrishna: Keshab entered in the role of a Sadhu and, in the course of his part, sprinkled the 'water of peace'.^* I did not like it. What is this,—sprinkling 'peace-water' in a dramatic performance?

"There was another who appeared on the stage as 'Sin'. But such acting is not desirable. It is equally wrong either to commit sin or to feign it."

^* Santi-jal as it is called, is similar to 'Holy-water.'

Narendra is a little out of sorts, but the Master very much wishes that he would sing. So he says, "Narendra, they would like to hear you; will you sing a little?"

Narendra takes up the Tanpura^† and, fingering it, sings:

"Bird, bonny Bird, that nestles within my heart, sing!

"My Lord is the Divine Tree that grants every wish, and It bears the four-fold fruits of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. O Bird, nestle in the Lord, and pour forth thy song in His rapturous praise, and regale thy soul with His four-fold ambrosial boons.

"Sing, 'He is the comfort of my soul!' Sing, 'He is the joy of my life!' Sing, O Bird of my life, let thy melodies never cease in praise of my Lord!

"Cry for the water of life, O cry as the 'chataka' cries in burning thirst for the water of the clouds! Sing, sweet Bird, sing let thy melodies never cease in praise of my Lord!"

And he sings:

"Brahman! Thou Joy of the Universe! O Great Light.

"Supreme Lord! Thou Lord of the worlds! O Soul of my sóul!"

And again:

"O King of kings, vouchsafe me Thy vision.

"I dedicate my life at Thy feet. But that, alas, is seared by the world's furnace.

"My heart, alas, is deeply stained with sin. And bound in Delusion's heavy chain, helpless I lie. O Lord, most merciful, release me; grant me freedom by Thy gracious look!"

Narendra sings two more songs; and after he has ended, the Master tells Bhavanath to sing. And he sings:

^† The Tanpura is a stringed musical instrument.

"O Lord of mercy, verily I have no greater friend than Thee! Who is there amongst men that stands by me through weal and woe, forgiving my sins and soothing my pain and ear…

"Thou art the helmsman that steers my craft of life across the world's perilous seas. And Thy grace it is, O Lord, that allays the tumults of my raging passions.

"Thou pourest the water of peace on my burning penitent Soul. And Thine is the bosom that will shelter me, when forsaken in my dying hour."

Narendra: (smiling) Bhavanath has given up taking fish and betel.

The real renunciation.

Sri Ramakrishna: (smilingly to Bhavanath) Why? What is the harm in fish and betel? There is nothing wrong in them. The real renunciation is the renunciation of Kamini-Kanchana.

"Where is Rakhal?"

A Devotee: He is sleeping.

Sri Ramakrishna: (smiling) A man came to see the jatra^* with a mat under his arm. but finding the Jatra yet to begin he spread the mat and lay down to sleep. When he woke up, the Jatra was over. [All laugh.] Thereupon he put the mat under his arm and went back home.

Sj. Ramdayal is lying ill in another room. The Master goes there and inquires from the door how he is.

It is 4 P. M. The Master is sitting in the parlour with Narendra, Rakhal, M., Bhavanath and other devotees. A few Brahmo devotees have come to visit him, and he is talking with them.

^* Old-fashioned theatrical performances.

A Brahmo Devotee: Sir, have you read 'Panchadasi'?^*

The value of Scriptural studies

Sri Ramakrishna: These have to be studied in the beginning; it is in the early stages that one reasons and discusses. But afterwards,—'with utmost care, O my mind, install the Beloved Mother in the heart. May I and thou alone see Her, let none else pry into it.'

"In the course of Sadhana, one has to learn all these.^† But when She has been realised, there is no lack of knowledge,—She Herself provides on unfailing supply.

"Man has to spell the words when he first learns to write, but afterwards he can write fluently.

"When gold is melted, the smith concentrates his whole energy on the process, working the bellows with one hand, fanning with the other, and blowing a pipe with his mouth, till the gold is dissolved. The moment the molten gold is poured into the cast, the goldsmith breathes a sign of relief.

"Mere study of the scriptures is of no help. If you live amidst Kamini-Kanchana, you are not able to comprehend the true significance of the scriptures. Attachment to the world takes away knowledge. 'With wistful hope, I learnt many a sweet poetic thing but, alas, I fell in love with a deaf man, and all was marred.'"^*

^* 'Panchadasi' is a standard treatise on the Advaita Vedanta by Vidyaranya Muni.

^† That is to say, the Scriptures.

Sri Ramakrishna then talks of Keshab Sen to the Brahmo devotees and says,

"Keshab's is both 'Yoga' and 'Bhoga'—spirituality and worldly enjoyment. He lives in the world, yet he keeps his mind in God."

A devotee refers to the recently concluded Convocation of the Calcutta University, saying, "I found, it was a regular forest of human beings."

Sri Ramakrishna: The sight of a great concourse of people inspires one with the thought of God. Had I seen it, I would have gone into Samadhi.

^* This is a quotation from a well-known Bengali poem.