CHAPTER IV.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICE.
Sri Râmakrishna: What is the use of merely listening to lectures? The real thing is practice.1
You say the words siddhi, siddhi (hemp leaves) repeatedly. Will that give you intoxication? You may pound the drug to a paste and smear thy whole body with it. Will that make thee intoxicated? No, you must swallow a little of it.
There are threads of various counts such as, No. 40, No. 41, and so on. Well, you do not know one number from another unless you are in the trade. It is by no means hard for those in the trade to differentiate a thread of a particular number from another number.
1 Sadhana.
That being so, I say, do practise a little. That done, it would be easy for you to have correct ideas as to the gross body, the subtle body, the Karana (the causal body) and the Mahakarana (the Great first Cause or the Unconditioned).
Devotion to God, the One Thing Needful; How to Pray.
When you pray, ask for Bhakti to His Lotus Feet. After Ahalya* was made free from the curse called down upon her by her husband, Ramachandra said: 'Do ask for a boon from me.' Ahalya said 'Oh Rama! If Thou wilt give me a boon, do Thou grant that my mind may ever be on Thy Feet, which are beautiful like lotus. O, I may be born amongst swine, but that will not matter then!'
For my part I pray for devotion alone to my Divine Mother.
Putting flowers upon Her Lotus Feet, with folded hands, I prayed saying, 'Mother, here is Ignorance, here is Knowledge, Oh! take them; I want them not; grant that I may have pure Love alone. Here is cleanliness of the mind and the body; here is uncleanliness; what shall I do with them? Let me have pure Love. Oh! here is sin, here is merit; I want neither the one nor the other; let me have pure Love alone. Here is good, here is evil, Oh! take them! I want none of them! Let me have pure Love alone. Here are good works, here are bad works, Oh! place me above them, I want them not; grant that I may have pure Love alone.
1 Bhakti,
* Ahalya—wife of the great sage Goutama. She was a devoted wife, but the villainy of her seducer, who personated her husband, made her unchaste. Hence the curse; the effect of which was, it is said, that she was turned into stone. The touch of Ramachandra made her human once more.
If you take the fruit of good works, you must take the fruit of bad works also. If you take the fruit of merit you must take the fruit of sin also. Knowledge of the One1 implies a knowledge of the many, Ajnana. Taking cleanliness2 you cannot get rid of its opposite, uncleanliness. Thus knowledge of light implies a knowledge of darkness,its opposite. A knowledge of unity implies a knowledge of diversity.
Blessed is that man who loves God! What matters it if he eats the flesh of swine? On the other hand, let a man live upon sacred food*; but if he is attached to the world and does not love God then—
Doctor: Woe unto him! What good shall he gain? But Buddha once ate swine's flesh. What do you think was the immediate result? Why, colic. Now the poor man took to opium as a remedy. You know what is the secret of 'Nirvana' and all such nonsense—the man remained stupefied with opium, and in such a state had no sense-consciousness. This was your so-called 'Nirvana'!
1 Jnâna.
2 Suchi,
* Havisyanna—rice cooked with clarified butter, etc., and offered to the Deity.
This remark of the Doctor on Buddha's Nirvana gave rise to loud laughter. The conversation went on—
The Worldly Man and Work Without Attachment.
Sri Râmakrishna (to Syam Basu): To lead the life of a householder is by no means wrong. But take care that you work without attachment, with your mind always pointing to the Feet of the Lord. Suppose a person has a carbuncle on the back. Now this man may talk as usual. Perhaps he attends to his daily work. But pain constantly puts him in mind of the carbuncle. In the same way, although you are in the world you should turn your mind constantly to the Lord.
A woman secretly carries on an intrigue with her lover. Live in the world like that woman, doing your many duties, with your soul secretly yearning for the Lord. She thinks of her lover all the time that she does her household duties.
(To the Doctor): Do you follow this?
Doctor: Never having had such feelings as those of the woman, how can I follow?
Syam Basu: My dear Doctor, excuse me, but you do follow a little, do you not? (Laughter.)
Sri Râmakrishna: More especially as he has been in the business for a long time. Is not that so? (Laughter.)
Theosophy.
Syam Basu: Sir, what do you think of Theosophy?
Sri Râmakrishna: The long and short of the matter is that people making disciples belong to an inferior order of men. Again, those that seek for occult powers, also belong to an inferior class; such powers, as for example, that of getting across the river Ganges on foot or of reporting here what another person is talking about in a far off country. It is by no means easy for such people to get pure love (Bhakti) for the Lord.
Syam Basu: But, Sir, the Theosophists seek to put Hinduism once more on a firm basis.
Sri Râmakrishna: That may be. Well, I am not well posted as to their views or doings.
Syam Basu: Questions like the following are dealt with in Theosophy: What regions is the soul bound for after death—the lunar sphere or the stellar mansions, and so forth?
Sri Râmakrishna: I dare say. But let me give you an idea of my way of thinking. Somebody put it to Hanuman, the great lover of God, 'What day is it of the lunar fortnight.' Hanuman replied, 'My dear fellow, excuse me. I know nothing about the days of the week, the day1 of the lunar fortnight, or the stars telling of one's destiny on a particular day. That is not my line. I meditate on God and on God2 alone.
Syam Basu: Sir, the Theosophists believe in Mahatmas. May I ask whether you hold that Mahatmas are real beings?
1 Tithi.
2 Rama.
Sri Râmakrishna: If you care to take my word for truth, I say 'Yes.' But will you be good enough to let these matters alone? Come when I am better. Do but have faith in my words, and I will see that you find peace. Do you not see I don't take either money or clothes or any other thing. In some theatrical representations respectable visitors are expected to encourage the actors by money-gifts during the acting. Here people are not called upon to make such gifts. This is why so many come here. (Laughter).
(To the Doctor): What I have got to say to you is this—but do not take offence!—You have had enough of the things of the world—money, fame, lectures and so on. Now give your mind a little to God, and come here now and then. It is good to listen to words relating to God. Such words light the soul and turn it to God.