1884.
SECTION VII.
1884.
VISIT TO SURENDRA'S GARDEN
CHAPTER I.
THE MASTER SINGING AND DANCING WITH HIS DISCIPLES.
On the 16th of June 1884, Sunday, the sixth lunar day (dark fortnight) of Jaishtha, Sri Râmakrishna was invited by one of his beloved disciples Surendra, a householder, to a feast at his garden-house at Kankurgachi near Calcutta. These invitations were invariably occasions for the gathering of his disciples, followers and admirers. They were really occasions of festivity and rejoicing, on which the Name of God was chanted to the accompaniment of mridangas and other musical instruments. At these times the Master could be seen at his best,—singing, dancing, with the joy of the Lord and frequently lost in that blessed state of the soul, in the enjoyment of God-consciousness, called Samadhi.
On this occasion, when the singing of devotional hymns and the spiritual excitement which came with it were over, the company present was treated by the Master to one of those divine talks so laden with sermons for the spiritual welfare of humanity—to a veritable 'feast of reason and flow of soul'—which shall linger in the memory of those that had the rare good fortune, the privilege, to listen to them.
The first part of the day was given to Sankirtan (the singing forth of the Name of the Lord). They were singing the songs telling of the separation of the Gopis from the Lord Sri Krishna who had gone to Mathura.
The Gopis were the milk-maids of Brindâban who loved the Lord Sri Krishna then living in their midst as a shepherd-boy. Sri Krishna is looked upon as an Incarnation of God. He loved and was loved by everybody. He is the Impersonation of Divine Love. When eleven years old he left Brindâban.
In the course of the songs the Master was frequently in a state of Samadhi (divine ecstasy).
They are singing. Suddenly he rises to his feet saying, "O my friend, do thou bring my beloved Krishna to me, or take me over to the place where He is."
The Master has lost his own personality in that of Râdhâ first among the Gopis. He realises that he and Râdhâ are One.
The Master in Samadhi.
With these words he stands speechless and motionless, with fixed half-closed eyes, evidently losing all sense-consciousness. Coming to himself he again, in a voice that draws tears from the eyes of those that hear him, cries out, "O my friend, do me this favour and I shall be thy most devoted servant. Remember it was thou who didst teach me my love for the Beloved."
The chorus goes on singing. Râdhâ is made in the song to say, 'O! I will not go to the bank of the Jamuna to draw water; for coming up to the Kadamba tree I am put in mind of my Own, my Beloved."
The Master, heaving a sigh, says 'Ah me!' The chorus chanting aloud the Name of the Lord, Sri Râmakrishna is again on his feet and in Samadhi.
Getting back his sense-consciousness, he can only say inarticulately 'Kistna, Kistna' for, 'Krishna, Krishna.' The proceedings are brought to a close by the Master himself leading the chorus in the well-known piece 'Victory to Râdhâ, Victory to Govinda.' He dances with his disciples who form a ring round him.
The Madness of Love for the Lord.
The dancing and singing all take place in the reception hall. The Master then withdraws into one of the adjoining rooms to the west.
To M., one of the disciples the Master talking of the Gopis says, 'how wonderful is their devotion1! At the sight of the Tamâl tree2 they were seized with the very madness of love.'
Disciple: This was also the case with Chaitanya Deva. Looking at the forest he thought it was Brindâban that was before him!—the sacred city, the birth-place of Sri Krishna.
1 Anurâga.
2 The dark colour of the Tamâl tree put Râdhâ in mind of the Lord Sri Krishna.
Master: Oh! if any one is but favoured with a single particle of this ecstatic Love (Prema). What devotion! Of this devotion they had not only the full complement (sixteen annas) but a great deal more than the full complement—five Sikas, five annas.
The One Thing Needful.
It is immaterial whether or not one believes in the incarnation of Râdhâ and Krishna. One may believe (like the Hindu or the Christian) in God's incarnation; one may not. But let all have a yearning for this intensity of love for the Lord. That is the one thing needful.
If you must be mad, be not so for things of this world. But be mad with the love of the Lord.
He then comes back into the hall (the disciples coming after him) and seats himself.
Purity.
A bolster is placed there for his use. Before touching it, he says 'Om Tat Sat. The Lord is the only Reality.' The pillow is of course a thing which has been made impure by the unholy touch of worldly men and the Master is Purity Itself.
It is getting late, but no dinner is being served. The Master becomes a little impatient. He is like a child.
Surendra is the host. He is a beloved disciple of Sri Râmakrishna.
Serve only the Lord.
The Master says, "Surendra's disposition has grown admirable. He is very outspoken. He is always bold enough to speak the truth. Then he is generous. Those who go to him for help never come back disappointed."
Master (to M.): You went to Bhagavan Dass. What sort of man is he?
Here comes Niranjan, a young disciple of Sri Râmakrishna. The Master stands up saying, 'O! you are come after all!" He is filled with joy.
Freedom from Guile.
Master (to M.): This young man is remarkably free from guile. Openness as opposed to dissimulation is the fruit of the practice of a good many religious austerities in one's previous incarnations.
In that well-known song by Tulsi Dass—"Oh my brother! do thou cling to God," occur the words, "give up dissimulation and cunning." Do you not see that whenever God has taken a human form this great virtue of guilelessness has never failed to come to view? Look at Dasaratha, the father of Rama, and Nanda Ghosh, the father of Sri Krishna. They were all free from guile.
The Service of the Lord.
Master (to Niranjan): Like men of the world you have accepted service. But you are working for your mother. Otherwise, I should have said, 'For shame! for shame! The Lord alone you must serve.'
Master (to Mani Mullick): This young man is open and guileless to a degree; only, now-a-days he tells fibs a little, that is all. The other day he said that he would come to see me, but he did not!
The Curse of the Service of the World.
Referring to the same disciple, the Master says, "A change for the worse has come over his face. It seems a dark shadowy film has spread over it. All this is due to office work. There are the accounts and a hundred other different matters to attend to!"
Anxiety for a Disciple.
Bhavanath is another disciple of his. He is talking to his fellow-disciple M.
Bhavanath (to M.): You have not been to the Lord's place for a long time. The Master was talking to me about your absence and was asking me whether it was a fact that he (the Master) had turned out to be an object of disrelish1 to you.
Sri Râmakrishna who has heard everything says kindly to M., "Quite so. Why is it that you did not come?" Poor M. could only stammer out some lame excuses. Here came in Mahima.
Master (to Mahima): This is indeed a visit quite unexpected! We expect a boat at most in this poor river of ours. But here comes a ship! But then it is the rainy season. (Laughter.)
The conversation next turns on the spiritual aspect of feasts.
1 Aruchi.
Master (to Mahima): Why is it that people are fed in a feast? Do you not think it comes to offering1 a sacrifice to God2 who is the Living Fire in all creatures!
But bad men, not God-fearing, guilty of adultery, fornication, etc., should on no account be entertained at a feast. Their sins are so great that several cubits of the earth beneath the place where they eat become polluted.
On one occasion Hriday gave a feast. A considerable number of those that were invited were sinful men. I said to Hriday, "Look here! if you feed these wicked people I shall leave the house at once.
Master (to Mahima): Somebody said that formerly you used very often to give feast. I dare say your household and other expenses have since multiplied.