CHAPTER XIII.

THE DAKSHINESWAR TEMPLE—JUNE, 1888

In the morning of Monday, the 4th of June, 1883, Balaram and a few other devotees have come to visit Sri Ramakrishna at the Temple of Dakshineswar.

M. came here yesterday. The proprietors of the Temple with their family were also present on the occasion of the Katyayani Puja, which was celebrated here last night; and Sri Ramakrishna, filled with the ecstasy of love, stood in the Theatre Hall before the Divine Mother and prayed:

"Thou art, O Mother, verily the Katyayani of Braja! Thou art the heaven and the earth and the lower regions! Of Thee, O Mother, Hari, Brahma and the twelve Gopalas were born! Thou art the ten Mahavidyas, and Thou art the ten Divine Incarnations!—This time, O Mother, Thou must take me to the other shore!"

Thus, love-intoxicated, he sang and conversed with the Mother.

And the singing of the Mother's name went on to the middle of the night.

It is nine in the morning following the celebration. The Master with a smile on his face is sitting in the circular portico beside the Ganges. M. is seated close by. For the last few days, the Master has been regarding Rakhal as the very personification of the Child Krishna. He playfully makes Rakhal lie down with his head resting on his lap. But seeing Trailokya^* passing before them with his attendants, the Master says to Rakhal, "Get up! Get up!"

^* Trailokya was the son of Mathuranath and grandson of Rani Rasmani.

Trailokya approaches and makes his obeisance. Sri Ramakrishna says to him, "Well, was there no Jatra performance last night?"

Trailokya: No, it could not be arranged.

Sri Ramakrishna: What is done, is done. But you should take care that this omission is not repeated. It is desirable that tradition be maintained unbroken.

Trailokya makes suitable reply and takes his leave.

After some time, Sj. Ram Chatterjee, priest of the Vishnu temple, comes to the Master. The Master asks him, "Ram, I told Trailokya that this omission of the Jatra performance should not occur any more. Was I right in saying that?"

Ram: What of that, sir,? You were quite right in having said so. Tradition should always be followed.

Sri Ramakrishna invites Balaram to dine with him.

For some time before the meal, the Master engages in a conversation, describing at length his own spiritual condition to Rakhal, Balaram, M., Ramlal and a few other devotees.

Sri Ramakrishna: Hazrah admonished me, saying, 'Why do you think so much of the boys?' As I was going in a carriage to Balaram's house, this thought came to my mind and made me very anxious. So I prayed to the Divine Mother, 'O Mother, Hazrah tells me that I worry too much over Narendra and the other boys. He asks, why I think so much of them, instead of God?' And as I prayed, a vision flashed before me, showing that She Herself has become men and that She manifests Herself most clearly in a pure soul. When, after realising this vision, I came down a little from Samadhi, I felt much annoyed with Hazrah. I said, 'The fellow made me miserable!' But then I thought, 'How can I blame the poor man?—how is he to know?'

The Master's relations with his disciples.

"I do know that they are Narayana Himself. When I first met Narendra I saw him to be absolutely devoid of body-consciousness. And no sooner did I touch him at the heart than he lost external consciousness. When he regained his senses he exclaimed, 'Oh, what have you done to me!?—I have my parents!' The same thing happened again in the house of Jadu Mallik. And as days passed, I became more and more anxious to see him, and my heart began to pant for him. So I asked Bholanath, 'What has happened to me?. Why do I feel like this for a Kayastha boy named Narendra?' He said, 'There is an explanation of this in the Mahabharata. When a man who has realised Samadhi comes down to the normal plane, he enjoys himself in the company of the pure-hearted, and only in their company does his heart find peace.' When I heard this, my mind was set at ease. Sometimes I would sit alone and cry to see him!"

II.

Sri Ramakrishna: Oh the moods that passed through me! When I first realised this state, I could not say how the days and nights came and went. Men said I was mad. So they had me married. . . . . . I went to the house of my father-in-law; there was much singing of the Holy Name, and Nafar and Digambar Chatterjee's father came. Sometimes I used to wonder what would be my future but again I would pray, 'Mother, if the landlords of the place honour me, then shall I consider my realisations to be true!' And they would invariably come of themselves to speak with me!

The Master's reminiscences.

"Oh, what a state it was! The slightest cause aroused in me the thought of the Divine Ideal. I worshippep 'the Beautiful,'—in a girl of fourteen years. I saw that she was Mother Herself; I made an offering of a rupee and bowed before her.

"I attended the Ramlila performance^*. I saw directly that they were Sita, Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman and Bibhishana! And I worshiped the actors.

^* A representation of the life and career of Rama, held as an annual festival in Northern India.

"In those days I used to worship maidens, for I found, they were Mother Herself!

"One day I saw a girl in a blue garment, standing at the Bakultala. She was a prostitute; in a flash came the vision of Sita! I forgot the existence of the girl. I saw that, rescued from Lanka, Sita herself was going to Rama! And for a long time I remained in Samadhi, completely unaware of the external world.

"Once I went to the Calcutta Maidan; it was the occasion of a balloon ascent and a large crowd had assembled there. Suddenly my eyes fell upon a young English boy leaning against a tree. The very posture of his body brought before me the vision of Sri Krishna, and I went into Samadhi.

"At Shihor, I entertained the cowherd boys; I gave sweets into their hands. I saw they were verily the cowherds of Braja, and I would partake of the sweets from their hands.

"In those days, I was scarcely ever conscious. Sejo Babu invited me to make a long stay in his Janbazar house. I found while there that I was the maid-servant of the Mother Herself. The ladies of the house were quite free before me, just as women are before little children. . . . .

"Even now the slightest cause rouses the consciousness of the Divine in me. Rakhal used to mutter while he made his 'japam.' On seeing that I could not contain my feelings, I would lose myself in the consciousness of God."

Sri Ramakrishna expatiates long on Prakritibhava^*. And he says, "I once exhibited the ways of the professional woman singer to a man singer. He said to me, 'Your imitations are quite correct. How did you learn them?'" The Master then acts those ways and manners before the devotees, and none can restrain his laughter.

III.

The Master is taking rest after dinner. He is enjoying a light sleep when Sj. Manilal Mallik enters the room, and having saluted him, squats on the floor. The Master remains lying down, and makeso occasional responses to the words of Manilal.

Manilal: Sivanath is a great admirer of Nityagopal. He says that Nityagopal has reached a high stage of spirituality.

Sri Ramakrishna: (in a sleepy tone) What do they think of Hazrah?

Now the Master sits up and listens to what Manilal says about Bhavanath's devotion.

Sri Ramakrishna: Ah, how great is his devotion! He scarcely begins to sing when his eyes become flooded with tears! On seeing Harish, he went into ecstasy, and said, 'They are very happy.'—Harish, you know, stays here sometimes instead of at home.

^* Prakritibhava is worship of God as prakriti i.e., woman, by being His maid-servant, friend or wife.

"(To M.) Well, what is the cause of Bhakti? Why do Bhavanath and other boys get inflamed with God-devotion?"

M. is silent.

Sri Ramakrishna: The fact is that, though all men look alike from outside, some of them are stuffed with 'sweet condensed milk'. A number of cakes may have the same look, but some of them may be stuffed with the powder of black gram or sweet condensed milk. The desire to know God, and love and devotion to Him,—that indeed is 'the sweet condensed milk.'

The Master then utters these words of assurance:

Grace of the Guru.

"Some there are who think that they are bound, that they will never attain to Jnana and Bhakti. But all this fear vanishes, if the Guru be gracious. Once a tigress fell upon a flock of goats, and in trying to spring on her prey, she gave birth to a cub and died. The goats brought it up amongst them; they ate grass, the cub followed their example; they bleated, the cub also bleated; and in this way, it grew to a full height. One day, a full-grown tiger came that way and watched with wonder the grass-eating tiger. He ran and seized it; it began to bleat. Then the tiger dragged it to the water-side and said, "Look here! look at your face in the water,—it is just like mine! And here, take this flesh!' So saying, he thrust a few pieces of flesh into its mouth. At first it would not eat them and only bleated piteously. But when it tasted blood, it began to eat. Then said the tiger, "You are now convinced that there is no difference between you and me. So come, follow me to the forest!'

"Therefore I say, all fear will vanish from your heart if you can attain the grace of your Guru. He himself will reveal to you who you are and what is the true nature of your self.

"If one practises only a little Sadhana, then the Guru makes him understand what is what. He then himself learns to distinguish the real from the unreal, and knows that God alone is eternal and that this world is ephemeral.

Wonderful effect of Sadhana.

"One night a fisherman secretly entered a garden and cast his nets into a tank to steal fish. The owner of the garden came to know of it and surrounded the thief with his men, and came with lighted torches to catch him. The thief in the meanwhile smeared his body with ashes and sat like a Sadhu under a tree. The men searched in vain for the fisherman; they found only an ascetic covered with ashes, sitting under a tree and deeply absorbed in meditation. Next morning the word went round that a great sage had come into so-and-so's garden. People poured in with presents of flowers and sweets to pay their respects to him, and a considerable amount of silver also began to accumulate before him. At that the fisherman thought, 'How wonderful! I am not a real Sadhu, yet they show me such reverence! Assuredly then I'll realise God, if I really become a Sadhu!'

"If a mere pretence of Sadhana brought such Illumination, what to speak of real Sadhana! Then you will surely perceive what is real and what is unreal; you will surely know that God is true and the world is false."

A devotee says to himself: "The world is unreal and the fisherman of the story also gave up the world. What then will be the fate of those awakened ones that are living in the world? Must they renounce it?"

The Master says immediately, "If a clerk is sent to jail, he no doubt serves his term, but when he is released, should he go dancing madly along the streets?—He seeks out another employment and goes on working as before. Even so, after attaining Divine Wisdom through the grace of the Guru, man can live in the world as jivan-mukta, 'living-free.'"

Thus does Sri Ramakrishna give his message of hope to the man of the world.

IV.

Manilal: Where shall I meditate on Him during my daily worship?

Sri Ramakrishna: The heart indeed is the holiest place. You may meditate on Him there.

Manilal is a Brahmo and believes that God is formless. To him thus says Sri Ramakrishna:

"Kuvir said, 'The Visible Lord is my mother, and the Invisible Lord is my father; whom shall I blame and whom shall I praise: Yea, both the scales are equally weighted!'

"Haladhari used to meditate on God as Sakara by day and as Nirakara by night. You may have faith either in Sakara or Nirakara. But your faith must be sincere and true.

Faith.

"Shambhu Mallik would walk all the way from Baghbazar to his garden house. When somebody once advised him, 'The way is long and you may meet with accidents,—why do you not go in a carriage?' he became red in the face and exclaimed, 'What! I left home with His name on my lips; what danger can there be for me?'

"Faith indeed achieves everything! I would say, 'If I see a certain person, or if a certain Temple officer speaks to me, then I shall take all this^* to be true'; and whatever I would think, would come out true!"

M. has studied English logic; and he has read in the chapter on Fallacies that belief in the coincidence of morning dreams with actual events is due to superstition. So he asks the Master, "Was there ever any exception?"

Sri Ramakrishna: No, at that time, they would be invariably fulfilled. And whatever I would believe in His name, would invariably come about. (To Manilal) But you must know, one cannot have that faith without being open and guileless.

"The bony sort of fellows, the hollow-eyed, the squint-eyed,—people with such physical signs cannot have faith easily."

It is evening. A maid-servant burns incense in the Master's room. There is complete silence and the fragrance of incense fills the place. The Master is sitting on his small cot, lost in the contemplation of the Mother. Manilal has left; M., Rakhal, and a few other devotees are sitting on the floor.

After some time, Bhagavathi, a maid-servant of the Temple proprietors, enters and salutes the Master from a distance. The Master asks her to sit down. She is a very old servant of the house of Rani Rasmani, and has been known to the Master for many years. She lived a rather impure life in her younger days.

^* All this=his realisations.

Sri Ramakrishna: You are old enough now. Are you devoting your money to the entertainment of Sadhus and Vaishnavas?

Bhagavati: How can I say that?^*

Sri Ramakrishna: Have you made your pilgrimage to Kashi and Brindavan?

Bhaga: How can I say that?—I have built a bathing Ghaut with my name engraved on the stone.

Sri Ramakrishna: Indeed!

Bhaga: Yes, my name, 'Srimati Bhagavati Dasi' is engraved there.

Sri Ramakrishna: (With a smile) That's very nice!

Now she feels a little encouraged and touches the sacred feet of the Master and salutes him again.

At once the Master stands up, uttering 'Govinda,' 'Govinda,' startled and tortured as it were by a scorpion-sting, and hurries up, panting, to where a jar of Ganges-water stands in a corner, and washes those parts of his feet which the maid-servant has touched.

In mute wonder, the devotees witness this strange happening; and the servant sits deeply mortified.

Infinite is the compassion of the Master! He tells her,—his every accent is full of kindness and love—"Do you always salute me in the ordinary way." He then sits down on the cot and tries to console her. He says, "Just hear a few songs," and sings,

^* She means 'Yes.' For it is customary not to speak about one's meritorious works.

"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 the five principles and Prakriti have fled!

"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:

"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 weighing 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 own free will; but when the play began, it lost its head. Nareschandra rues this game of smiles and tears; it were better, he thinks, had he not come at all!"

And again:

"Live by thyself, O mind, go not to any one. Seek in thy own place to realise thy inmost hopes.

"He is verily the Greatest Treasure and the Touchstone: jewels untold bestrew the threshold of my Fulfiller's hall."