CHAPTER II.
THE LAST WORDS WITH KESHAB SEN.
By this time Sri Râmakrishna has come down to the sense-world. The company assembled in the drawing-room eagerly watches him as he talks smiling with Keshab. Strange, that neither Keshab nor the Master says, 'How do you do?' or 'How do you feel?' No words are spoken but those about God alone.
Sri Râmakrishna (to Keshab): The members of the Brahmo Samaj—why do they dwell so much upon the glory of God's Works? 'O Lord, Thou hast made the sun, Thou hast made the moon, Thou hast made the stars.' Why do you dwell so much upon these things? many are they that are charmed with the beauty of the garden—its glorious flowers and sweetest odours—few seek the Lord of the Garden! Which is the greater of the two—the garden or its Lord? Verily the garden is unreal so long as Death stalks in our midst; but the Lord of the Garden is the one Reality!
After having taken a few glasses at the bar of a tavern, who cares to enquire how many tons the liquors weigh that are in the barrels there for sale? A single bottle suffices for one.
At the sight of Narendra I am drunken with joy. Never have I asked him, 'Who is thy father?' or how many houses has he got of his own?
Men do value their own goods; they value money, houses, furniture: hence they think that the Lord would view His own works—the sun, moon, stars—in the same light! Men think He would be glad if they spoke highly of His works.
Sambhu Mullick once said, 'Sir, do bless me that I may die leaving all my wealth at the hallowed Feet of the Divine Mother.' I replied, 'What do you speak? It is all wealth to thee! To the Divine Mother it is no better than the dust over which you walk!'
There was once a theft committed in the Temple of Vishnu—the thief had stolen the jewels that adorned the Divine Images.
Mathoor (Manager of the Temple and son-in-law of Râni Râshmony)and myself went up there to see what was the matter. Mathoor cried out saying, 'Thou, God, hast no worth! They took away all Thy jewels, but Thou wert unable to do anything! Upon this I said to him sharply, 'How foolish it is of you to talk in this strain! The jewels of which you speak are as good as lumps of clay to the Lord of the Universe whom you worship in this Image! Remember it is from Him that the Goddess of Fortune derives all power!'
Does the Lord care for all the wealth that one may offer to Him? O, no. His grace lighteth on him alone who can offer Love1 and Devotion. What he values is pure Love, Non-attachment1 and Renunciation2 alone for His sake.
1 Bhakti.
Various Classes of Lovers of God.
One's idea of God varies with the way in which one's nature is made up. One man3 is fond of meat and offers animals in sacrifice to his God. Another4 has his mind turned to many things, and his offerings to his God are of many kinds. A third man5 does not like to make a show of his worship to the world. He offers flowers, leaves of the Bell-tree and the holy Ganges water. He offers the plainest things,—sweet cakes6, or a preparation of milk, rice and sugar.7
There is yet another class8 of worshippers. They are like children. Their soul is unattached to the elements9 that go to form the body and mind. Their worship consists purely in believing in the Name of the Lord and repeating it with devotion. Yes, the Name of the Lord alone and nothing else!
The Lord's Hospital and the Treatment of the Soul.
Sri Râmakrishna (smiling to Keshab): You are ill; well there is a deep meaning in that. There has passed through your body many a deep devotional feeling that searches the Lord: your illness bears witness to those feelings. Of the havoc done by them to the system one can form no idea at the time they arise.
I Viveka.
2 Vairâgya.
3 Tamo-guni.
4 Rajo-guni
5 Satva-guni.
6 Bâttâsa.
7 Pâyas.
8 Gunâtita Bhaktas.
9 The Three Gunas.
A ship goes past over the Ganges but nobody attends to it. A little while after big waves are seen beating upon the bank and sometimes washing away portions of it.
An elephant entering into a hut soon makes it totter and at last pulls it down. The Love for the Lord is like the elephant in its greatness. It very often pulls down the frail house of clay called the human body.
When a house is set on fire, some of the things inside are first burnt up; then the house is taken up as a whole by the fire and burnt. Much the same thing comes to pass when God is seen. The fire of God-vision first burns up the various passions—Lust, Anger, etc.;—then the false ego which says, I am the Doer (Lord); and lastly, the whole house, viz., the body.
You may think the Lord's Will is done. But no, the physician does not leave the patient until he is perfectly cured. Your name has been entered as a patient in the hospital books and you cannot get away till you are 'seen cured' by the physician in charge (the Doctor Saheb). Why did you suffer your name to be so entered? (Laughter.)
Keshab goes into a fit of laughter at the Master's reference to the Lord's Hospital.
Sri Râmakrishna (to Keshab): Hriday used to say, "Never have I witnessed such Love of God and such illness too joined with it." I was at the time taken very ill with diarrhœa of a rather severe type. It then seemed as if myriads of ants were eating into my brain.
But the words that I used to speak were all concerning the Lord. Ram of the village Natagore a Hindu physican, finding me—when he called—in the midst of a homily, said "Has this man really gone out of his wits, that he goes on talking like that with a body made of mere skin and a couple of bones!"
Master (to Keshab): Everything is ordered by Her will. Thou doest Thy will alone, O Mother Divine!, Thou doest Thy Own work—but foolish man taketh all the credit to himself, saying, 'It is I who have done it.'
The Divine Gardener.
The gardener knows well how to deal with the common rose; and also with the rose Bussora which is of a superior type. As for the latter, he clears the soil round about its roots to give it the benefit of the night dew. The dew adds freshness and strength to the plant. It may be that the same is the case with you. The Divine Gardener knows how to deal with you. He digs round about you to the very roots, to the end that the dew of His Inspiration shall fall on you and you shall be purer, stronger than before; and your work even greater and more abiding than ever.
The Lord's Prayer for Keshab.
Whenever I hear that you are ill, my heart, is sorely troubled. The last time that you were unwell, I used to wake up during the last part of the night and cry to my Divine Mother, saying, 'O Mother! if it be that anything evil comes upon Keshab, with whom shall I converse about Thee when I shall go to Calcutta?' Coming to Calcutta I presented offerings of fruit and sugar to the Divine Mother, praying to Her earnestly for your well-being. I had made a vow to make these offerings to Her.
All present look with wonder and amazement at the Master;—thinking of the depth of His unspeakable love for Keshab. He continues:—
To speak the truth, my anxiety for you during your present illness has not been as intense as it was on a former occasion.
I have been a little anxious however, for the last two or three days.
At the door leading from the east into the drawing room stood Keshab's venerable mother.
Umanath said in a loud voice to the Master, "Sir, here is mother bowing down to you."
All power comes from the Divine Mother.
The Master smiles. Umanath continues, 'Sir, mother asks you to bless him so that he may soon get well. The Master replied, 'Let your prayers be offered up to the Divine Mother who is made of Bliss Everlasting. She it is Who removes all troubles—all the ills that flesh is heir to. Speaking to Keshab, again, the Master says—
Solemn Warning to Keshab.
It would be better for you not to stay in the inner apartments for long hours. With women and children about you, you run the risk of sinking in the sea of ignorance and of losing sight of the Lord. You shall feel better if words about the Lord are spoken to you by your friends.
Solemnly does the Master utter these words. Presently he passes into the state of a veritable Child from that of a serious Teacher. He smiles and says 'Keshab, Let me look at your hand. He takes it up on the palm of his own hand and gently tosses it up and down as if he were going to find its weight. At last he says 'No, it is all right, your hand is light enough; it is only the hands of those that think evil that are not so. (Laughter.)
Mother orders everything.But foolish man, who now is and the next moment goes out of sight into eternity, seeks to take all the credit to himself!'
It is on two different occasions that the Lord smiles. Once when He finds two brothers dividing with a rope the land left by their father, and saying, 'This is mine and that is thine'! He smiles, saying, 'the fools call the land their own not knowing that the Universe is Mine.'
And once again does the Lord smile. The child is dangerously ill and the physician says to the weeping mother, 'Fear not, mother. I take it upon myself to see that your child gets well.' The fool of a physician knows not that it is the Lord that slays and no human power will be able to save! (Absolute silence.)
A fit of cough comes upon Keshab. It lasts for a long time. The suffering of the venerable patient touches the heart of everyone present. All look for the end of the fit with bated breath. The suffering has been great indeed. And Keshab must leave the room and go back to his sick bed. He falls down at the feet of the Master and bows down with his head touching the ground.
Keshab goes out of the room into his own chamber holding to the wall as before.
* * * * * *
They have asked Sri Râmakrishna to take some sweet-meats before he leaves for the Temple at Dakshineswar. He is talking with the company present. Keshab's eldest son is seated by his side.
The Divine Mother to bless:—none else.
Amrita says, 'This is his eldest son. Will you be so kind as to give him your blessings?' Amrita watches the Master gently stroking the young man. Amrita says, again, 'Sir, will you not put your hand upon his head and bless.' The Master replied, 'It is not given to me to bless, it is for the Divine Mother to do so. All blessings come from Her.'
He smiles, and continues fondling the boy as before. Speaking of Keshab the Master goes on saying to Amrita and other Brahmo devotees, all disciples of Keshab:—
The Lord's Prayer.
It is not given to me to say of a person, 'Let him be healed.' Of my Divine Mother I never asked such power. My constant prayer is, 'O Mother, do Thou grant that I may have Bhakti pure, sincere love for Thee, unmixed with worldly desires of any kind, like the weal of the body, pleasure, money,fame, &c. Never have I asked of Her the power of doing such miracles as the healing of diseases.
Estimate of Keshab before the disciples.
How great is Keshab—honoured alike by men of the world that seek for wealth and by holy men that seek for the love of God.
I once met Dayananda in a garden house. He expected Keshab on that day and was asking every body if Keshab had come up. In his yearning for Keshab he frequently left his room to make enquiries.
Dayananda called the Bengali language Gouranda Bhasha (the language of Gour.)
Keshab, I suppose, did not believe in the Vedic gods and the efficacy of the Vedic sacrificial fire1. So Dayananda had said, 'The Lord hath made so many things; could He not make the gods as well?'
The Master speaks highly of Keshab before his disciples and says:—
Fame for the Master.
Keshab is free from the vulgar pride of the preceptor2 who comes in his own name. Very often has he said to many of his disciples, 'Go to the Temple at Dakshineswar where you will have your doubts solved.' It is my way also to say 'Let Keshab increase a million-fold.' What shall I do with fame?
1 Homa.
2 Guru.
Yes, Keshab is great, honoured alike by men of the world and by holy men who seek God alone.
The refreshment over, he will now leave for the Temple. The Brahmo devotees have stepped downstairs with him to see him off.
The Presence of the Mother in our homes.
Coming downstairs the Master observes there is no light on the ground floor at the foot of the stairs. He says to Amrita and others, 'All these places should be lighted, for the Divine Mother abides in every house. Such an omission leads to poverty. See that such an omission does not take place again.'
With two or three disciples Sri Râmakrishna set out in a cab on his way back to the Temple.