1882
THE
GOSPEL OF SRI RÂMAKRISHNA.
SECTION I.
1882
CHAPTER I.
THE FIRST MEETING WITH THE MASTER.
It is the spring of 1882, the season of flowers and of the sweet southern breeze. The sun is about to set on the Temple of the Mother of the Universe one pleasant day in the month of March. All nature smiles and rejoices. At such a time came about M.'s first vision of the God-man.
The Temple of the Mother where Sri Râmakrishna has made his abode for years is on the eastern bank of the Ganges in the village of Dakshineswar, about four miles north of Calcutta.
He is sitting on the lounge (the smaller of the two bedsteads1), in his own chamber which looks out on the sacred waters of the Holy Stream (the Ganges) as it flows past. The disciples and other devotees are seated on the floor. They look on his benign and smiling face and drink the nectar of the living words that fall from his hallowed lips.
Facing the east and smiling, the Master talks of the Lord.
M. looks in and stands speechless; M. wonders if it is Sukadeva* before him that talks of the Lord? M. feels as if he were standing on a spot to which have come together the various holy places of pilgrimage to hear the Divine Preacher that is seated before him. It might have been the Lord Gourânga Deva (Chaitanya) seated before him with Râmânanda, Swarup and other beloved disciples in the Holy Land of Puri*, singing forth the sacred name of the Beloved Lord and His glorious works.
1 Taktaposh.
* The holy sage who loved the Lord from his infancy.
Renunciation of work for the Lord.
Sri Râmakrishna speaks, saying, Suppose at the Name1 of the Lord your hair stands on end or tears of joy start from your eyes; verily I say unto you the term is over of your 'work for the Lord'; for instance, the daily service2, morning, noon and evening, laid down for the twice-born. Then and not till then have you the right to give up work3; then indeed work will drop off of itself. When this state of the soul is reached, the devotee need only repeat the name of the Lord (Ram, Hari or simply the symbol Om). That will suffice; no other work need be done.
Again says the Master, "Sandhya ends in Gayatri";† Gayatri, in the simple symbol Om.††
1 Hari or Râma.
2 Sandhyâ.
3 Karma.
* Puri, in Orissa, contains the temple of Jagannath. Gourânga (Chaitanya) was here for about the last twenty-four years of his life.
† Gâyatri, the Vedic mantra (sacred text)which the Brahmin and other twice-born Hindus repeat every day while meditating upon the Supreme Being.
†† Om, Vedic symbol for the Supreme Being. This is the sacred unspoken syllable of the Hindus.
M. is staying at Barahanagar (near Dakshineswar). He has come with Sidhu, a friend, to the Temple garden in the course of an evening walk. It is Sunday and M. is free from work.
In the course of his walk M. had first visited the garden-house of P. Banerjee. There Sidhu had said to him, "There is a beautiful garden on the bank of the Ganges. Let us go there. A holy man dwells there called the Paramahamsa."
M. stands speechless! He thinks within himself, How charming is this place! What a man! How sweet and charming are his words! The very idea of leaving this place troubles the soul. But let me first look about and form a clear idea of the Temple. I will then come back and sit at his feet.
M. comes out of the room into the quadrangle. He begins to visit the temples of God the Father,1 of God Incarnate as Love,2 and lastly, that of God the Mother3.
It is just evening—the time of Divine Service. The priests are waving the lights before the sacred Images to the accompaniment of bells, cymbals and drums. From the southern end of the Temple-garden is wafted upon the soft southern breeze sweet music, melody after melody played by the temple orchestra upon flageolets and other instruments. That music is carried far over the bosom of the Ganges until it is lost in the distant Immensity! The breeze that blows from the south, how gentle and fragrant with the sweet fragrance that comes from many a flower! The moon is just up and the temple and the garden are soon bathed in the soft silvery light. It seems as if Nature and Man both rejoice and hold themselves in readiness for the evening service."
1 Siva.
2 Râdhâkânta.
3 Kâli—God in His relations to the conditioned and the finite, as distinguished from Brahma or God the Absolute.
M.'s joy is full at the blessed sight. Sidhu speaks to M., saying, This is Râshmani's temple. Here the Gods are ministered unto from day to day—from morning till night. Here too holy men and the poor are daily fed out of the offerings made to the Deity.
The two friends wend their way through the grand quadrangle back towards Sri Râmakrishna's chamber. Coming up to the door of the room they notice that it is closed. M. has learnt English etiquette and thinks it will be rude to try to enter without leave.
The incense has burnt a little while before.
At the door stands Brinda, the maid-servant. M. talks to her.
M:—Well my good woman, is he in—the holy man?
Brinda:—Yes, he is inside this room.
M:—How long has he made his abode here?
Brinda:—O, many many years.
M:—I suppose he has many books to read and study.
Brinda:—O dear, no; not a single one. His tongue talks everything—even to the highest truths! His words come down from above!
M. is fresh from college. He is told the Master is not a scholar! At this he stands aghast—speechless with surprise!
M:—Very well. Is he now going on with his evening worship1?—May we come in?—Will you be so kind as to tell him that we are anxious to see him?
Brinda:—Why, you may go in, my children; do go, and take your seats before him.
Thereupon they enter the room. No other people are there. The Master is seated alone on the smaller of the two bedsteads. Incense is burning and the doors are closed. M. salutes with folded hands. A mat is spread on the floor. At his word, M. and Sidhu take their seats.
The Master makes many kind enquiries: What is your name! Where do you live? What are you? What has brought you to Barahanagar? etc., are some of the questions put to M. M. answers all these; but he notices that even as he speaks, Sri Râmakrishna gives his mind to some other subject on which he appears to be meditating.
Is this God-consciousness? It calls up to M.'s mind the image of a man sitting, rod in hand, on the edge of a lake. The float trembles just as the fish bites at the bait. Eagerly the man looks at the float. He grasps the rod with all his mind and strength. He talks to no one but is all-attention.
1 Sandhyâ.
M. heard later on that he was put into a peculiar state of God-consciousness1 several times every day, when he lost all sense of the external world.
M. (to Sri Râmakrishna):—I am afraid, Sir, you will have still to go through your evening worship2. In that case we must not trouble you any more to-night, but call at another time.
Sri Râmakrishna:—No, no, you need not be in a hurry.
He is silent again for a time. When at last he does open his lips he says in a dreamy tone, Evening worship? No, no, it is not that.
A short while after M. salutes the Master. He bids him good-bye, saying, come again.
On his way back to Barahanagar, M. says to himself, Who may this God-man be? How is it that my soul longs to see him again? Is it possible that a man may be great and yet not a scholar? * * * What means this yearning of the soul for him?—He has bidden me come again.—I must come to-morrow or, at the latest, the day after.