CHAPTER VI.
GOD-VISION.
Master (aside to M.): I do see that Being as the Reality before my very eyes! Why then should I reason? I do actually see that it is the Absolute Who has become all things about us; it is He Who appears as the finite soul and the phenomenal world! One must have an awakening of the spirit within to see this Reality.
1 Brahman.
2 Lilâ.
3 Nitya.
* Substantia—Spinoza's 'Ethica.'
How long must one reason or discriminate, saying, 'Not this,' 'Not this,'! Why, so long as one is unable to see Him as the Reality. Of course it would not do for a person merely to say, 'I have seen beyond the possibility of a doubt that it is He Who has become all.' Mere saying is not enough. By the Lord's grace the spirit must be quickened. Spiritual awakening is followed by Samadhi. In this state one forgets that one has a body; one loses all attachment to things of the world—'Woman and Gold;' one likes no other words than those relating to God; one is sorely troubled if called upon to listen to worldly matters.
The spirit within being awakened, the next step is the realisation of the Universal Spirit. It is the Spirit that can realise the Spirit.
God-Incarnate and Revelation.
After the discussion is over, the Master says to M., O, I have observed there is a good deal of difference between the mere intellectual comprehension of God by reasoning or discrimination1 and the actual realisation through meditation2 in solitude; and again between these on the one hand and the realisation through His grace! If out of His abundant Grace He makes us realize what is God-Incarnate, then all reasoning would be quite thrown away—it would need nobody to explain what is an Incarnation.
1 Vichâr.
2 Dhyâna.
Let me make this clear to you. A person, suppose, is in a dark room. He rubs the matches on the side of the box and all at once a light is struck! If the Lord is gracious enough to strike the light for us and dissipate the darkness of ignorance, then it is that all doubts shall cease for ever! This sort of disputation shall never carry us far.
God the Absolute or Impersonal, and God Personal.
Upon this the Master invites Narendra to be seated by his side. He makes many kind inquiries about him and caresses him.
Narendra (to Master): Why, Revered Sir, I did meditate in solitude on the Divine Mother1 for three or four days together; but nothing has come of it.
Master: All in good time; do not be impatient. Mother is not a different Being from God the Absolute. The Mother is the Personal side of God, the Absolute. When thought of apart from His works the Supreme Being is called God the Absolute. Again, when we think of God as creating, preserving, and destroying, i.e., in relation to His works, we call the same Being the Personal God, the Divine Mother.*
The same Being to whom you apply the name of Brahman of the Vedanta, I call by the name of Mother.
1 Kâli.
* Kâli—Mother of the universe, the Consort of Eternity or the Absolute—the Personal God or God in his relations to the Conditioned.
God the Absolute or Impersonal and God Personal are the same, just as fire and its burning power are the same—in the sense that the one cannot be thought of without the other. If you postulate the Personal you must postulate the Impersonal; if you talk of the Impersonal you must already have taken the Personal for granted.
It is getting late. Girish must go out to the theatre—of which he is the manager. He says to Haripada "Be good enough, my brother, to call a cab;—I shall have to go to the theatre."
Master (laughingly, to Haripada): Mind, a cab; see that you bring one! Don't forget. (Laughter.)
Haripada (smiling): No, Revered Sir. Am I not going on that errand? (Laughter.)
Girish (to Master): I am afraid I must leave you, Revered Sir, and go out to my place of business, the theatre, unfortunate that I am!
Master: No! you must serve both parties. Janak served God being unattached to the world. He looked to the interests of both, this world and the next. He drank of the 'cup of milk' but did not forget the soul.
Girish: I am thinking, Revered Sir, of giving up the theatre and of making them over into the hands of the younger fellows.
Master: No, No; it is all right, as it is. You need not have any such idea. You are doing good to many.
Narendra (softly): Just a moment ago he was calling Him God-Incarnate! I suppose, he must now leave his God-Incarnate to Himself, and be off to the theatre and mind his own business!