← The Gospel of Swami RamdasHis talks, as recorded by Swami Satchidananda

1951-10-02

Chapter 8

Anandashram, October 2, 1951

64. Extremes Meet

It was 1.30 in the afternoon when the Trichur devotees came to the bhajan-hall and sat in front of Papa. One of them took a fan in hand and started fanning Papa. Rama Menon was sitting just in front of Papa, and Devarajan on the right. Both of them started massaging Papa's legs. Swami Krishnananda, who was sitting near Devarajan, requested Papa to explain how "extremes meet" referring to Papa's ‘At the Feet of God’.

Papa: God is infinite and God is eternal. Therefore God alone is real. Anything that has a beginning and end is unreal. It is only a mental projection. God cannot be divided into parts. Every part of Him is full. You say twentyfour hours make a day, calculated on the basis of the movement of the sun. In fact the sun never moves. The sun never rises and never sets. Still we base all our calculations on the sun's movements. It is all mind-made. When you go to the sun, is there any day or night? The calculation of twentyfour hours a day has no meaning there. So also about all measurement of space which is infinite. They are only illusory. Therefore the beginning and the end are the same. It is very difficult to understand. Infinity and Eternity, in which all opposites meet and lose distinction, cannot be divided into parts.

65. Indriyas only Delude

Papa continued: "How careful man has to be when he is on the spiritual path! He must control all his senses. He faces dangers on every side. The so-called fairest thing is the ugliest evil to him, a source of grave danger. If you go by appearances, you are doomed. There are several instances to show how we are ruined by our senses. Man is deceived by all his five indriyas. Each indriya has its own power to delude the soul. The eyes have the power of attraction. We fall a prey to the apparent beauty of the objects we see. The ears beguile us with sweet music, fine talks and so on. Touch deludes us when we come in contact with fine surface or when we touch one whom we love. We are deceived also by the sense of taste. If we get fine laddus to eat, we take one, two, three or more as they taste good, and the result is stomach-ache the next day. We see how small flies and insects are attracted by light. When fire is lit, they come in thousands, fall into the fire and die. Eyes are the cause of their destruction. The bee is attracted by the smell of honey in flowers. It goes and sits on the lotus flower and drinks honey. It does not take heed when the lotus starts closing itself at sunset, and dies imprisoned in the flower. So the sense of smell destroys the bee. The hunter goes to the forest and starts singing sweet songs. The deer falls under the spell of the music and stands still, perfectly absorbed, forgetting all danger, with the result that the hunter goes to it and quietly puts a rope round its neck. Thus hearing is the cause of the deer's loss of freedom. Fish is caught because of the sense of taste. It is tempted by the bait on the hook. It comes to eat and gets caught. When a wild elephant has to be caught, a tame elephant is sent to decoy it. The latter goes and rubs its body on the wild elephant and gradually leads it into a pit when it is caught. Its enemy is the sense of touch. Animals, deceived by one or other of the five senses, bring bondage and destruction upon themselves. But man is a slave of all the five senses and so, you can imagine, what his fate is. Blessed indeed is he who uses his power of discrimination to see that he does not fall a victim to these and, by self-discipline, completely masters his senses and mind.

"When Ramdas was a boy he used to be told many ghost stories which frightened him. In later years he gradually got free from fear. In his sadhana period Ramdas found that fear was only a mental weakness. He was commanded by Ram to resort to lonely places such as graveyards, cremation-grounds, haunted houses and so on and pass nights there. Once he went to a solitary place as willed by God. When he was sitting there all alone, he suddenly heard shriek after shriek and was startled. Ramdas asked Ram, "What is this, Ram?", to which Ram replied, "Why should you fear? Repeat Ram Nam." Then Ramdas was all right. He was perfectly at ease. People used to frighten him about such places. But Ram Nam, so constantly on his lips, gave him courage to face every situation bravely. He wished to see the tigers in the forest-caves and call out for them. He wanted to tell them, 'You are also Ram'."

Rama Menon: Why did Papa risk his life?

Papa: Why should he not do it?

All burst into laughter.

66. How Ram Commands

Swami Krishnananda: You always say that Ram commanded you to do this or that. What was the nature of the command?

Papa: When you have completely surrendered yourself to God, whatever comes to your mind is His command. It is He who makes you think. It is also He who makes you talk and act. You see Ram's command in everything; in every feeling, every emotion, and every movement. Now you have realised that by Ram's will alone everything happens. It is a state of consciousness, not of intellectual conviction. Once Ramdas was sitting with some friends in a house. Ram commanded that he should go away. Suddenly he got up and told his hosts, "Ramdas is going", and began to walk away. The hosts followed him. Ramdas went a few yards and suddenly returned. The hosts asked, "What is the matter? Why do you return?" Ramdas replied, "Ram first commanded Ramdas to go. Now Ram commands him to return." Whatever Ramdas does is done by Ram's will alone.

Rama Menon: When you went in search of tigers, what would have happened if they had pounced upon you?

Papa: They would not have done so. But what harm is there even if they had pounced upon Ramdas? That would also have been Ram's command.

67. Why Critics are Friends? – Transcend Gunas

Proceeding to other topics, Papa said: "Tukaram in one of his songs says, 'O God, let my neighbours be my slanderers.' There is a deep meaning in these words. The so-called friends are your real enemies. They praise you for your good qualities. They never point out your defects. You never get a chance in their company to correct yourself. Whereas, if your neighbours are your carping critics, they will always dwell upon your shortcomings and weaknesses. Then you have a chance to mend yourself. Really they are your friends. Once Ramdas was passing through a street in Mangalore. On the road a man, who knew Ramdas before he took sannyas, directly addressed Ramdas and said, "Oh, you are now a sannyasi! Do not become a Ravana sannyasi!' Ramdas thought, "Ram, how wonderful you are! You came here in the form of that friend to warn Ramdas against the danger of becoming a Ravana sannyasi.' Thus Ramdas welcomed the warning and was very happy.

"There is a saying among the Sufi saints that a Guru should never flatter the disciple. On the other hand, he should point out his faults whatever they are. Only then the disciple will progress. If the Guru praises the disciple, the latter will certainly be ruined. A Guru always wants his disciple to progress. So he scolds him for his faults and then the disciple progresses on the path.

"Before you attain God, you have to transcend all the gunas. The gunas will not take you to God. Even the best of the gunas can only direct you Godward. Here is a parable often told by Sri Ramakrishna.

"A wealthy villager who had been to the town was returning to his village. It was late in the evening and he had to pass through a forest. In the middle of the forest three robbers attacked him. They tied him with a rope to a tree and took away the money he had. They were about to go away when one of them asked, "Why not we kill him?" But another interfered saying, "No, we need not kill him. Let him remain as he is, and we shall go away.' So the three went away. But a few minutes later, the third robber came back, set the man free and told him, "Now you may go home." The villager replied, 'You have been good enough to set me free. I wish you accompany me to my house.' The robber replied, 'No, that cannot be. I shall take you only to the outskirts of the village.' When they reached the outskirts of the village, the robber said, 'I cannot come with you any further. You see, I am, after all, a robber. If I come to the village, I shall be arrested by the police.' The three robbers in this story are the three gunas. The first one who wanted to kill the man was tamas. The second one who did not want to kill him, but only keep him bound, was rajas. The third who freed him from bondage and permitted him to go home was sattwa. Though sattwa set him free and took him out of the forest, it could not take him home. So, even the best of gunas can only help you to walk towards God. They have no admission into His presence."

68. All Responsibility is God's – Repeat Ram Nam Ceaselessly

Papa continued: 'The devotee should develop the habit of throwing all burden on God. It is foolish to think that you have any responsibility. All responsibility is God's. A man got into a train with his trunk. Even after he had taken his seat he continued to keep the trunk on his head. He foolishly thought that if he did not carry the trunk himself, it would not be borne by the train. He failed to realise that the train that was carrying him would also carry his trunk. God looks after us and gives us everything necessary. Will he not take up our so-called responsibilities also? So, once you get into God's train, do not carry your burden on your head. Keep it at your side. Be sure that the train that carries you will also carry your trunk. We have to become conscious of God's protecting power always. His light is everywhere."

Rama Menon: If His light is everywhere, why should we have to come to you?

Papa: That is only to realise that His light is everywhere.

It was then three o'clock. Lingappa brought coffee for Papa on a tray. Seeing him, Papa said, "Now we shall stop." He went inside the room, had his coffee and came out. The devotees were standing outside, discussing among themselves the various topics Papa had touched upon. Listening to a part of the discussion, Papa said: "Ram Nam should go on within you continuously all the time – during your leisure hours, working hours, while walking, sitting, eating, bathing and even during sleep. Repetition of Ram Nam during sleep will go on automatically, if you have been repeating it all the waking hours. You go to sleep repeating Ram Nam and you wake up with the repetition. Then it shows that the repetition was going on even during the sleep and that the sleep was not of the tamasic type.

Hearing the bell for the afternoon tea, Papa said, "It is time for your tea. Now go."

October 3, 1951

69. Gopis and Jnana

Papa was sitting on his chair in the bhajan-hall after midday rest when devotees came and sat in front of him. The talk turned to gopis' love for Sri Krishna.

Papa observed: "It was the gopis' pure love for Krishna that made Him multiply Himself into as many Krishnas as there were gopis."

Swami Krishnananda: The gopis, it is said, had no jnana. So Krishna took as many forms as there were gopis. When Krishna went from Brindavan to Mathura, the gopis suffered agony of separation from Him. So He taught them jnana through Uddhava and said they should try to see Him in their own hearts and not outside.

Papa: To say that the gopis had no jnana is not correct. When Uddhava asked them, "Why do you feel Krishna's separation? Is He not within you?', the gopis answered, 'We do not want your dry philosophy. Keep it to yourself. It does not satisfy us. We want to have Krishna with us in His beautiful form. We want Him to talk with us, to play with us. We have nothing to do with your philosophy.' How can you then say that the gopis had no jnana?

Continuing, Papa said: "Sri Ramakrishna was pining for the Darshan of the Divine Mother. Sometimes he would have Her vision. When he felt separation from Her, he was disconsolate. Vivekananda on seeing his condition, once asked the Master, 'Are you different from your Mother? According to Vedanta there is only One, the Brahman. There can then really be no separation between God and His devotee. Why do you want Her Darshan?' To this Sri Ramakrishna replied, 'You may keep you advaita philosophy to yourself. I will have nothing to do with it. What you say may be true according to the Upanishads, still I want to have my Mother's company'."

Adverting to gopis' love, Papa said: "Gopis' love made Krishna multiply Himself into many forms. Love is so powerful a force. Love made Krishna reveal Himself in innumerable forms to them all at the same time. Everywhere, in all forms, He is purna, full, complete in His infinity. Even in a particle, He is infinite, full. He is not a part or fraction anywhere. Everywhere He is completely manifest with all His powers. He is at once the biggest and the smallest. In all forms of manifestation, He is in His entirety."

When Papa talked about gopis' love and the glory of God's manifestation, his face radiated a strange glow, more than usual. His enchanting smile enhanced it, and gave thrills of joy to the devotees listening to him. Rama Menon, noticing this, gave a significant look at Swami Krishnananda and whispered, "Look at Papa's face. What a strange glow!" Rama Menon was finding so much joy in Papa's talks that he seemed to feel lighter and was almost jumping from his seat. He forgot for the moment his bulky body.

70. Ramdas – A Dangerous Person

During the talks a visitor had entered the bhajan-hall unnoticed and was sitting silent in a corner. Seeing the new face, Papa asked him, "Where are you coming from?" The devotee got up and prostrated at Papa's feet, tears flowing from his eyes. He could not express himself, but simply gazed at Papa's face and uttered a few broken words. Papa was also gazing at him intently. After a few moments, the devotee said, "My Lord, you my Lord! How gracious you are!"

Papa: Where are you coming from? What is your name?

Devotee: I am Chimanlal from Dholera. O Lord, you have changed me. You have drawn me from there to your feet.

Papa asked Chimanlal to sit down and enquired if he had his food. Chimanlal said, "Yes", and sat down in the midst of others. Everybody was moved by the sight of Chimanlal sitting in front of Papa. They became curious to know more about him and were looking at him, when Papa remarked, "Ram Nam has made him mad. See his eyes. They are full."

Swami Krishnananda (to Chimanlal): What made you come here?

Chimanlal: Some unseen power dragged me here from Saurashtra. I could not resist it. I had only three rupees with me when I started. But help came to me on the way and now I am here.

Papa: When Ramdas was in Calcutta last, hundreds of people used to come to hear him. Mothers, young and old, assembled in the afternoon in large numbers and sat there for hours. They had locked their houses expecting to go back before their husbands returned from their offices but they were so happy hearing the talks that they forgot all about their homes. When the husbands returned, they found their houses locked. So they came to our place and waited outside the hall. The poor chaps were hungry. But the mothers would not move till the talks were over. The husbands at last began asking for the keys by signs. This went on for two days. On the third day, one desperate husband among them came forward and said, 'Swamiji, please excuse me, I want to tell you frankly that you are a very dangerous person. You have been here only two days, but see the confusion you have created in our households. The ladies do not wish to leave this place once they come here. They do not seem to care for their homes. What are we to do? If you go to other cities, there also you will create a similar situation. Your place is not in society, but in cave or jungle.' Ramdas then replied quietly, "Ramdas never wanted to come to the towns. He was for long a denizen of the forest. But Ram has been of late, making him move in society for reasons best known to Him." (Laughter).

"Ramdas was once in a jungle in UP. It was a dreadful place, haunted by wild animals. Tigers used to roam about freely. Ramdas had hardly stayed there for two days, when thousands of people from the adjoining villages came there, started bhajans and kirtans and began singing, feeding and so on. The whole place then looked like a busy town. Now where can Ramdas go and hide himself?" (Laughter).

"When Ramdas first came here (Ramnagar), this too was a jungle. Now you can see what it is. Ramdas did not want all these structures. They have, however, sprung up by Ram's will. Mataji often used to say that she was fed up with this ashram show and wanted to go and live in a forest. Ramdas’ reply to her was, 'If we go to the forest, another ashram will rise there also. You cannot escape it. So it is better to continue here itself'."

Rama Menon: So, if you go to jungles, they will be converted into cities.

Papa: That is what is happening.

71. Effect of Grace – Why Sadhana?

Swami Krishnananda: What is the power of grace?

Papa: Chimanlal will describe it to you.

Chimanlal: How can I describe the grace of God.

Papa: You know the effect of grace on a person.

Chimanlal: The effect of grace on me was that a very strong and unknown power forced me to come here. I did not know or plan anything. But I was dragged here by His will and I came like one mad. I am very happy now.

Papa (pointing to Chimanlal): His case is that of a kripa siddha. A devotee of God has sung: ‘When you engage a cooly for some work and make him work from morning till evening and then give him at the end of the day's work his wages, is it kripa shown to the cooly? He has worked hard for his wages and thus had earned it. So, Oh God, if you want me to repeat your Name and do tapas, giving up food and many other things, before you would give me your Darshan, you are only a taskmaster. That is no kripa. I would then have earned your Darshan by doing tapas and sadhana. I won't do anything. You should give me Darshan. Then you are really a kripalu. Otherwise it is only a shop-keeping business.’ Nothing that we do can make us deserve God's Darshan. It is infinitely more precious than any sadhana. The devotee's attitude must be: 'O Lord, I am incapable of doing anything by myself. I look only to your grace for everything. I am nothing, O Lord, you are everything. Whatever is, is yours; whatever power exists is yours; whatever work is done, is only by your power. Thus your grace flows freely without my doing anything for it. I have nothing of my own to offer you. Everything is yours.’ When you know this truth, grace flows into you. When you feel you are nothing, God makes you everything. When your mind is saturated with this feeling, your ego disappears and you become God's own. God reveals Himself to him whom He chooses.

Rama Menon: Then why should we do sadhana at all?

Papa: We have to do sadhana and lead a spiritual life because it is great pleasure to lead such a life. Otherwise life is tasteless. If life is spent merely in earthly pleasures, we feel it is wasted. But, consider who makes you do sadhana. Everybody is not prompted to do sadhana. It is God Himself who by His grace makes you do sadhana to prepare you for the higher life.

It was three o'clock. Papa was about to get up for coffee, when Rama Menon said: "Papa, hearing your talks even one day is better than reading a hundred books. During these three days, you have given us enough to meditate upon for several days."

The Trichur devotees prostrated one by one as they were to leave for Trichur in the evening.

72. A Glorious End

Tyampanna Adhikari was a devotee from Mangalore. He had been residing in a small house near the ashram those two years with his three daughters and a two-year old grandson called Dattatreya. Datta had been ailing for some days. He was getting worse and his condition was critical since the morning. Dr Kuppuswami had been attending on him. It was 9.30 at night. Papa was about to retire. Adhikari came to Papa and informed him that the child's end was drawing near. Mataji who was resting in the bhajan-hall heard that and got up immediately. S was preparing the salt gargle for Papa. Papa called out to S: "Don't prepare the gargle now. We are going to see the child." S came out with a torch light and followed them.

When they reached the house, the child was crying in a low voice. His eyes were open though he hardly recognised anyone. Papa touched the boy's forehead, blessing him. S felt thrilled at the sight. The mother of the boy, who was not normal mentally, was standing there like a statue, completely unaffected by the sight. Her younger sister, the foster-mother of Datta, had been crying, and when Papa arrived, she got hold of Papa's feet and wept bitterly. Papa asked her to control herself and repeat Ram Nam. She was quiet for some time, but unable to control herself, she caught hold of Papa's feet and again started weeping aloud.

Papa: You should not weep like this. Datta has been suffering so much. Now let him be free from this suffering. He is going to Vaikuntha. He is a great soul. He came here only to keep us company. You should send him away happy. He is not born to you. Give up the moha and be brave. These physical bodies have not come to live here for ever. One day or other, every one has to pass away. Don't weep now. Repeat Ram Nam.

Meanwhile, Mataji was busy attending on the child. She gave him Papa's pada-tirtha every few minutes. Dr Kuppuswami was feeling the pulse of the boy. He reported that he was gradually sinking. Mataji's eyes were filled with tears. She did not speak. But Papa said often, "Ramdas cannot bear this." However, he was requested to sit there a few minutes longer.

It was a touching scene – the child lying on a small bed, about to breathe its last; Mataji, all love, care and affection, attending on him; the child's mother standing in the room completely unconcerned; the foster-mother in intense grief; the doctor anxiously watching the child and Papa sitting there looking at the child, blessing him with all his heart. Papa had already blessed Datta and assured that he was going to Vaikuntha.

Papa was there till 10.45. Mataji stayed on till next morning. She made everybody repeat Ram Nam in which she too joined. Datta breathed his last at 1.10 a.m. What a glorious end!