Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - Vol-7
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
TUESDAY, July 30, 1895.
Christs and Buddhas are simply occasions upon which to objectify
our own inner powers. We really answer our own prayers.
It is blasphemy to think that if Jesus had never been born,
humanity would not have been saved. It is horrible to forget thus
the divinity in human nature, a divinity that must come out. Never
forget the glory of human nature. We are the greatest God that
ever was or ever will be. Christs and Buddhas are but waves on the
boundless ocean which I am. Bow down to nothing but your own
higher Self. Until you know that you are that very God of gods,
there will never be any freedom for you.
All our past actions are really good, because they lead us to what
we ultimately become. Of whom to beg? I am the real existence, and
all else is a dream save as it is I. I am the whole ocean; do not
call the little wave you have made "I"; know it for nothing but a
wave. Satya kâma (lover of truth) heard the inner voice telling
him, "You are the infinite, the universal is in you. Control
yourself and listen to the voice of your true Self."
The great prophets who do the fighting have to be less perfect
than those who live silent lives of holiness, thinking great
thoughts and so helping the world. These men, passing out one
after another, produce as final outcome the man of power who
preaches.
* * *
Knowledge exists, man only discovers it. The Vedas are the eternal
knowledge through which God created the world. They talk high
philosophy - the highest - and make this tremendous claim. . . .
Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not. Never pander to
weakness. If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps
them away, let them go; the sooner the better. Childish ideas are
for babies and savages; and these are not all in the nursery and
the forests, some of them have fallen into the pulpits.
It is bad to stay in the church after you are grown up
spiritually. Come out and die in the open air of freedom.
All progression is in the relative world. The human form is the
highest and man the greatest being, because here and now we can
get rid of the relative world entirely, can actually attain
freedom, and this is the goal. Not only we can, but some have
reached perfection; so no matter what finer bodies come, they
could only be on the relative plane and could do no more than we,
for to attain freedom is all that can be done.
The angels never do wicked deeds, so they never get punished and
never get saved. Blows are what awaken us and help to break the
dream. They show us the insufficiency of this world and make us
long to escape, to have freedom. . . .
A thing dimly perceived we call by one name; the same thing when
fully perceived we call by another. The higher the moral nature,
the higher the perception and the stronger the will.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
The reason of the harmony between thought and matter is that they
are two sides of one thing, call it "x", which divides itself into
the internal and the external.
The English word "paradise" comes from the Sanskrit para-desa,
which was taken over into the Persian language and means literally
"the land beyond", or the other world. The old Aryans always
believed in a soul, never that man was the body. Their heavens and
hells were all temporary, because no effect can outlast its cause
and no cause is eternal; therefore all effects must come to an
end.
The whole of the Vedanta Philosophy is in this story: Two birds of
golden plumage sat on the same tree. The one above, serene,
majestic, immersed in his own glory; the one below restless and
eating the fruits of the tree, now sweet, now bitter. Once he ate
an exceptionally bitter fruit, then he paused and looked up at the
majestic bird above; but he soon forgot about the other bird and
went on eating the fruits of the tree as before. Again he ate a
bitter fruit, and this time he hopped up a few boughs nearer to
the bird at the top. This happened many times until at last the
lower bird came to the place of the upper bird and lost himself.
He found all at once that there had never been two birds, but that
he was all the time that upper bird, serene, majestic, and
immersed in his own glory.
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
WEDNESDAY, July 31, 1895.
Luther drove a nail into religion when he took away renunciation
and gave us morality instead. Atheists and materialists can have
ethics, but only believers in the Lord can have religion.
The wicked pay the price of the great soul's holiness. Think of
that when you see a wicked man. Just as the poor man's labour pays
for the rich man's luxury, so is it in the spiritual world. The
terrible degradation of the masses in India is the price nature
pays for the production of great souls like Mirâ-bâi, Buddha, etc.
* * *
"I am the holiness of the holy" (Gita). I am the root, each uses
it in his own way, but all is I. "I do everything, you are but the
occasion."
Do not talk much, but feel the spirit within you; then you are a
Jnani. This is knowledge, all else is ignorance. All that is to be
known is Brahman. It is the all. . . .
Sattva binds through the search for happiness and knowledge, Rajas
binds through desire, Tamas binds through wrong perception and
laziness. Conquer the two lower by Sattva, and then give up all to
the Lord and be free.
The Bhakti-Yogi realises Brahman very soon and goes beyond the
three qualities. (Gita, Chapter XII.)
The will, the consciousness, the senses, desire, the passions, all
these combined make what we call the "soul".
There is first, the apparent self (body); second, the mental self
who mistakes the body for himself (the Absolute bound by Maya);
third, the Atman, the ever pure, the ever free. Seen partially, It
is nature; seen wholly, all nature goes, even the memory of it is
lost. There is the changeable (mortal), the eternally changeable
(nature), and the Unchangeable (Atman).
Be perfectly hopeless, that is the highest state. What is there to
hope for? Burst asunder the bonds of hope, stand on your Self, be
at rest, never mind what you do, give up all to God, but have no
hypocrisy about it.
Svastha, the Sanskrit word for "standing on your own Self", is
used colloquially in India to inquire, "Are you well, are you
happy?" And when Hindus would express, "I saw a thing", they say,
"I saw a word-meaning (Padârtha)." Even this universe is a
"word-meaning".
* * *
A perfect man's body mechanically does right; it can do only good
because it is fully purified. The past momentum that carries on
the wheel of body is all good. All evil tendencies are burnt out.
* * *
"That day is indeed a bad day when we do not speak of the Lord,
not a stormy day."
Only love for the Supreme Lord is true Bhakti. Love for any other
being, however great, is not Bhakti. The "Supreme Lord" here means
Ishvara, the concept of which transcends what you in the West mean
by the personal God. "He from whom this universe proceeds, in whom
it rests, and to whom it returns, He is Ishvara, the Eternal, the
Pure, the All-Merciful, the Almighty, the Ever-Free, the
All-Knowing, the Teacher of all teachers, the Lord who of His own
nature is inexpressible Love."
Man does not manufacture God out of his own brain; but he can only
see God in the light of his own capacity, and he attributes to Him
the best of all he knows. Each attribute is the whole of God, and
this signifying the whole by one quality is the metaphysical
explanation of the personal God. Ishvara is without form yet has
all forms, is without qualities yet has all qualities. As human
beings, we have to see the trinity of existence - God, man,
nature; and we cannot do otherwise.
But to the Bhakta all these philosophical distinctions are mere
idle talk. He cares nothing for argument, he does not reason, he
"senses", he perceives. He wants to love himself in pure love of
God, and there have been Bhaktas who maintain that this is more to
be desired than liberation, who say, "I do not want to be sugar. I
want to taste sugar; I want to love and enjoy the Beloved."
In Bhakti-Yoga the first essential is to want God honestly and
intensely. We want everything but God, because our ordinary
desires are fulfilled by the external world. So long as our needs
are confined within the limits of the physical universe, we do not
feel any need for God; it is only when we have had hard blows in
our lives and are disappointed with everything here that we feel
the need for something higher; then we seek God.
Bhakti is not destructive; it teaches that all our faculties may
become means to reach salvation. We must turn them all towards God
and give to Him that love which is usually wasted on the fleeting
objects of sense.
Bhakti differs from your Western idea of religion in that Bhakti
admits no elements of fear, no Being to be appeased or
propitiated. There are even Bhaktas who worship God as their own
child, so that there may remain no feeling even of awe or
reverence. There can be no fear in true love, and so long as there
is the least fear, Bhakti cannot even begin. In Bhakti there is
also no place for begging or bargaining with God. The idea of
asking God for anything is sacrilege to a Bhakta. He will not pray
for health or wealth or even to go to heaven.
One who wants to love God, to be a Bhakta, must make a bundle of
all these desires and leave them outside the door and then enter.
He who wants to enter the realms of light must make a bundle of
all "shop-keeping" religion and cast it away before he can pass
the gates. It is not that you do not get what you pray for; you
get everything, but it is low, vulgar, a beggar's religion. "Fool
indeed is he, who, living on the banks of the Ganga, digs a little
well for water. Fool indeed is the man who, coming to a mine of
diamonds, begins to search for glass beads." These prayers for
health and wealth and material prosperity are not Bhakti. They are
the lowest form of Karma. Bhakti is a higher thing. We are
striving to come into the presence of the King of kings. We cannot
get there in a beggar's dress. If we wanted to enter the presence
of an emperor, would we be admitted in a beggar's rags? Certainly
not. The lackey would drive us out of the gates. This is the
Emperor of emperors and never can we come before Him in a beggar's
garb. Shop-keepers never have admission there, buying and selling
will not do there at all. You read in the Bible that Jesus drove
the buyers and sellers out of the temple.
So it goes without saying that the first task in becoming a Bhakta
is to give up all desires of heaven and so on. Such a heaven would
be like this place, this earth, only a little better. The
Christian idea of heaven is a place of intensified enjoyment. How
can that be God? All this desire to go to heaven is a desire for
enjoyment. This has to be given up. The love of the Bhakta must be
absolutely pure and unselfish, seeking nothing for itself either
here or hereafter.
"Giving up the desire of pleasure and pain, gain or loss, worship
God day and night; not a moment is to be lost in vain."
"Giving up all other thoughts, the whole mind day and night
worships God. Thus being worshipped day and night, He reveals
Himself and makes His worshippers feel Him."
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
THURSDAY, August 1, 1895.
The real Guru is the one through whom we have our spiritual
descent. He is the channel through which the spiritual current
flows to us, the link which joins us to the whole spiritual world.
Too much faith in personality has a tendency to produce weakness
and idolatry, but intense love for the Guru makes rapid growth
possible, he connects us with the internal Guru. Adore your Guru
if there be real truth in him; that Guru-bhakti (devotion to the
teacher) will quickly lead you to the highest.
Sri Ramakrishna's purity was that of a baby. He never touched
money in his life, and lust was absolutely annihilated in him. Do
not go to great religious teachers to learn physical science,
their whole energy has gone to the spiritual. In Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa the man was all dead and only God remained; he
actually could not see sin, he was literally "of purer eyes than
to behold iniquity". The purity of these few Paramahamsa (Monks of
the highest order) is all that holds the world together. If they
should all die out and leave it, the world would go to pieces.
They do good by simply being, and they know it not; they just are.
. . .
Books suggest the inner light and the method of bringing that out,
but we can only understand them when we have earned the knowledge
ourselves. When the inner light has flashed for you, let the books
go, and look only within. You have in you all and a thousand times
more than is in all the books. Never lose faith in yourself, you
can do anything in this universe. Never weaken, all power is
yours.
If religion and life depend upon books or upon the existence of
any prophet whatsoever, then perish all religion and books!
Religion is in us. No books or teachers can do more than help us
to find it, and even without them we can get all truth within. You
have gratitude for books and teachers without bondage to them; and
worship your Guru as God, but do not obey him blindly; love him
all you will, but think for yourself. No blind belief can save
you, work out your own salvation. Have only one idea of God - that
He is an eternal help.
Freedom and highest love must go together, then neither can become
a bondage. We can give nothing to God; He gives all to us. He is
the Guru of Gurus. Then we find that He is the "Soul of our
souls", our very Self. No wonder we love Him, He is the Soul of
our souls; whom or what else can we love? We want to be the
"steady flame, burning without heat and without smoke". To whom
can you do good, when you see only God? You cannot do good to God!
All doubt goes, all is, "sameness". If you do good at all, you do
it to yourself; feel that the receiver is the higher one. You
serve the other because you are lower than he, not because he is
low and you are high. Give as the rose gives perfume, because it
is its own nature, utterly unconscious of giving.
The great Hindu reformer, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, was a wonderful
example of this unselfish work. He devoted his whole life to
helping India. It was he who stopped the burning of widows. It is
usually believed that this reform was due entirely to the English;
but it was Raja Ram Mohan Roy who started the agitation against
the custom and succeeded in obtaining the support of the
Government in suppressing it. Until he began the movement, the
English had done nothing. He also founded the important religious
Society called the Brahmo-Samaj, and subscribed a hundred thousand
dollars to found a university. He then stepped out and told them
to go ahead without him. He cared nothing for fame or for results
to himself.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
There are endless series of manifestations, like "merry-go-round",
in which the souls ride, so to speak. The series are eternal;
individual souls get out, but the events repeat themselves
eternally; and that is how one's past and future can be read,
because all is really present. When the soul is in a certain
chain, it has to go through the experiences of that chain. From
one series souls go to other series; from some series they escape
forever by realising that they are Brahman. By getting hold of one
prominent event in a chain and holding on to it, the whole chain
can be dragged in and read. This power is easily acquired, but it
is of no real value; and to practise it takes just so much from
our spiritual forces. Go not after these things, worship God.
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
FRIDAY, August 2, 1895.
Nishthâ (devotion to one ideal) is the beginning of realisation.
"Take the honey out of all flowers; sit and be friendly with all,
pay reverence to all, say to all, 'Yes, brother, yes, brother',
but keep firm in your own way." A higher stage is actually to take
the position of the other. If I am all, why can I not really and
actively sympathise with my brother and see with his eyes? While I
am weak, I must stick to one course (Nishthâ), but when I am
strong, I can feel with every other and perfectly sympathise with
his ideas.
The old idea was: "Develop one idea at the expense of all the
rest". The modern way is "harmonious development". A third way is
to "develop the mind and control it", then put it where you will;
the result will come quickly. This is developing yourself in the
truest way. Learn concentration and use it in any direction. Thus
you lose nothing. He who gets the whole must have the parts too.
Dualism is included in Advaitism (monism).
"I first saw him and he saw me. There was a flash of eye from me
to him and from him to me."
This went on until the two souls became so closely united that
they actually became one. . . .
There are two kinds of Samadhi - I concentrate on myself, then I
concentrate and there is a unity of subject and object.
You must be able to sympathise fully with each particular, then at
once to jump back to the highest monism. After having perfected
yourself, you limit yourself voluntarily. Take the whole power
into each action. Be able to become a dualist for the time being
and forget Advaita, yet be able to take it up again at will.
* * *
Cause and effect are all Maya, and we shall grow to understand
that all we see is as disconnected as the child's fairy tales now
seem to us. There is really no such thing as cause and effect and
we shall come to know it. Then if you can, lower your intellect to
let any allegory pass through your mind without questioning about
connection. Develop love of imagery and beautiful poetry and then
enjoy all mythologies as poetry. Come not to mythology with ideas
of history and reasoning. Let it flow as a current through your
mind, let it be whirled as a candle before your eyes, without
asking who holds the candle, and you will get the circle; the
residuum of truth will remain in your mind.
The writers of all mythologies wrote in symbols of what they saw
and heard, they painted flowing pictures. Do not try to pick out
the themes and so destroy the pictures; take them as they are and
let them act on you. Judge them only by the effect and get the
good out of them.
* * *
Your own will is all that answers prayer, only it appears under
the guise of different religious conceptions to each mind. We may
call it Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Jehovah, Allah, Agni, but it is
only the Self, the "I". . . .
Concepts grow, but there is no historical value in the allegories
which present them. Moses' visions are more likely to be wrong
than ours are, because we have more knowledge and are less likely
to be deceived by illusions.
Books are useless to us until our own book opens; then all other
books are good so far as they confirm our book. It is the strong
that understand strength, it is the elephant that understands the
lion, not the rat. How can we understand Jesus until we are his
equals? It is all in the dream to feed five thousand with two
loaves, or to feed two with five loaves; neither is real and
neither affects the other. Only grandeur appreciates grandeur,
only God realises God. The dream is only the dreamer, it has no
other basis. It is not one thing and the dreamer another. The
keynote running through the music is - "I am He, I am He", all
other notes are but variations and do not affect the real theme.
We are the living books and books are but the words we have
spoken. Everything is the living God, the living Christ; see it as
such. Read man, he is the living poem. We are the light that
illumines all the Bibles and Christs and Buddhas that ever were.
Without that, these would be dead to us, not living.
Stand on your own Self.
The dead body resents nothing; let us make our bodies dead and
cease to identify ourselves with them.
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
SATURDAY, August 3, 1895.
Individuals who are to get freedom in this life have to live
thousands of years in one lifetime. They have to be ahead of their
times, but the masses can only crawl. Thus we have Christs and
Buddhas. . . .
There was once a Hindu queen, who so much desired that all her
children should attain freedom in this life that she herself took
all the care of them; and as she rocked them to sleep, she sang
always the one song to them - "Tat tvam asi, Tat tvam asi" ("That
thou art, That thou art").
Three of them became Sannyasins, but the fourth was taken away to
be brought up elsewhere to become a king. As he was leaving home,
the mother gave him a piece of paper which he was to read when he
grew to manhood. On that piece of paper was written, "God alone is
true. All else is false. The soul never kills or is killed. Live
alone or in the company of holy ones." When the young prince read
this, he too at once renounced the world and became a Sannyasin.
Give up, renounce the world. Now we are like dogs strayed into a
kitchen and eating a piece of meat, looking round in fear lest at
any moment someone may come and drive them out. Instead of that,
be a king and know you own the world. This never comes until you
give it up and it ceases to bind. Give up mentally, if you do not
physically. Give up from the heart of your hearts. Have Vairâgya
(renunciation). This is the real sacrifice, and without it, it is
impossible to attain spirituality. Do not desire, for what you
desire you get, and with it comes terrible bondage. It is nothing
but bringing "noses on us," as in the case of the man who
had three boons to ask. We never get freedom until we are
self-contained. "Self is the Saviour of self, none else."
Learn to feel yourself in other bodies, to know that we are all
one. Throw all other nonsense to the winds. Spit out your actions,
good or bad, and never think of them again. What is done is done.
Throw off superstition. Have no weakness even in the face of
death. Do not repent, do not brood over past deeds, and do not
remember your good deeds; be âzâd (free). The weak, the
fearful, the ignorant will never reach Atman. You cannot undo, the
effect must come, face it, but be careful never to do the same
thing again. Give up the burden of all deeds to the Lord; give
all, both good and bad. Do not keep the good and give only the
bad. God helps those who do not help themselves.
"Drinking the cup of desire, the world becomes mad." Day and night
never come together, so desire and the Lord can never come
together. Give up desire.
* * *
There is a vast difference between saying "food, food" and eating
it, between saying "water, water" and drinking it. So by merely
repeating the words "God, God" we cannot hope to attain
realisation. We must strive and practice.
Only by the wave falling back into the sea can it become
unlimited, never as a wave can it be so. Then after it has become
the sea, it can become the wave again and as big a one as it
pleases. Break the identification of yourself with the current and
know that you are free.
True philosophy is the systematising of certain perceptions.
Intellect ends where religion begins. Inspiration is much higher
than reason, but it must not contradict it. Reason is the rough
tool to do the hard work; inspiration is the bright light which
shows us all truth. The will to do a thing is not necessarily
inspiration. . . .
Progression in Maya is a circle that brings you back to the
starting point; but you start ignorant and come to the end with
all knowledge. Worship of God, worship of the holy ones,
concentration and meditation, and unselfish work, these are the
ways of breaking away from Maya's net; but we must first have the
strong desire to get free. The flash of light that will illuminate
the darkness for us is in us; it is the knowledge that is our
nature - there is no "birthright", we were never born. All that we
have to do is to drive away the clouds that cover it.
Give up all desire for enjoyment in earth or heaven. Control the
organs of the senses and control the mind. Bear every misery
without even knowing that you are miserable. Think of nothing but
liberation. Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the
surety that you can get free. Say "Soham, Soham" whatever comes.
Tell yourself this even in eating, walking, suffering; tell the
mind this incessantly - that what we see never existed, that there
is only "I". Flash - the dream will break! Think day and night,
this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get
free.
All relatives and friends are but "old dry wells"; we fall into
them and get dreams of duty and bondage, and there is no end. Do
not create illusion by helping anyone. It is like a banyan tree,
that spreads on and on. If you are a dualist, you are a fool to
try to help God. If you are a monist, you know that you are God;
where find duty? You have no duty to husband, child, friend. Take
things as they come, lie still, and when your body floats, go;
rise with the rising tide, fall with falling tide. Let the body
die; this idea of body is but a worn-out fable. "Be still and know
that you are God."
The present only is existent. There is no past or future even in
thought, because to think it, you have to make it the present.
Give up everything, and let it float where it will. This world is
all a delusion, do not let it fool you again. You have known it
for what it is not, now know it for what it is. If the body is
dragged anywhere, let it go; do not care where the body is. This
tyrannical idea of duty is a terrible poison and is destroying the
world.
Do not wait to have a harp and rest by degrees; why not take a
harp and begin here? Why wait for heaven? Make it here. In heaven
there is no marrying or giving in marriage; why not begin at once
and have none here? The yellow robe of the Sannyasin is the sign
of the free. Give up the beggar's dress of the world; wear the
flag of freedom, the ochre robe.
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
SUNDAY, August 4, 1895.
"Whom the ignorant worship, Him I preach unto thee."
This one and only God is the "knownest" of the known. He is the
one thing we see everywhere. All know their own Self, all know, "I
am", even animals. All we know is the projection of the Self.
Teach this to the children, they can grasp it. Every religion has
worshipped the Self, even though unconsciously, because there is
nothing else.
This indecent clinging to life as we know it here, is the source
of all evil. It causes all this cheating and stealing. It makes
money a god and all vices and fears ensue. Value nothing material
and do not cling to it. If you cling to nothing, not even life,
then there is no fear. "He goes from death to death who sees many
in this world." There can be no physical death for us and no
mental death, when we see that all is one. All bodies are mine; so
even body is eternal, because the tree, the animal, the sun, the
moon, the universe itself is my body; then how can it die? Every
mind, every thought is mine, then how can death come? The Self is
never born and never dies. When we realise this, all doubts
vanish. "I am, I know, I love" - these can never be doubted. There
is no hunger, for all that is eaten is eaten by me. If a hair
falls out, we do not think we die; so if one body dies, it is but
a hair falling. . . .
The super conscious is God, is beyond speech beyond thought,
beyond consciousness. . . . There are three states, - brutality
(Tamas), humanity (Rajas), and divinity (Sattva). Those attaining
the highest state simply are. Duty dies there; they only
love and as a magnet draw others to them. This is freedom. No more
you do moral acts, but whatever you do is moral. The Brahmavit
(knower of God) is higher than all gods. The angels came to
worship Jesus when he had conquered delusion and had said, "Get
thee behind me, Satan." None can help a Brahmavit, the universe
itself bows down before him. His every desire is fulfilled, his
spirit purifies others; therefore worship the Brahmavit if you
wish to attain the highest. When we have the three great "gifts of
God" - a human body, intense desire to be free, and the help of a
great soul to show us the way - then liberation is certain for us.
Mukti is ours.
* * *
Death of the body for ever is Nirvana. It is the negative side and
says, "I am not this, nor this, nor this." Vedanta takes the
further step and asserts the positive side - Mukti or freedom. "I
am Existence absolute, Knowledge absolute, Bliss absolute, I am
He", this is Vedanta, the cap-stone of the perfect arch.
The great majority of the adherents of Northern Buddhism believe
in Mukti and are really Vedantists. Only the Ceylonese accept
Nirvana as annihilation.
No belief or disbelief can kill the "I". That which comes with
belief and goes with disbelief is only delusion. Nothing teaches
the Atman. "I salute my own Self." "Self-illuminated, I salute
myself, I am Brahman." The body is a dark room; when we enter it,
it becomes illuminated, it becomes alive. Nothing can ever affect
the illumination; it cannot be destroyed. It may be covered, but
never destroyed.
* * *
At the present time God should be worshipped as "Mother", the
Infinite Energy. This will lead to purity, and tremendous energy
will come here in America. Here no temples weigh us down, no one
suffers as they do in poorer countries. Woman has suffered for
aeons, and that has given her infinite patience and infinite
perseverance. She holds on to an idea. It is this which makes her
the support of even superstitious religions and of the priests in
every land, and it is this that will free her. We have to become
Vedantists and live this grand thought; the masses must get it,
and only in free America can this be done. In India these ideas
were brought out by individuals like Buddha, Shankara, and others,
but the masses did not retain them. The new cycle must see the
masses living Vedanta, and this will have to come through women.
"Keep the beloved beautiful Mother in the heart of your hearts
with all care."
"Throw out everything but the tongue, keep that to say, "Mother,
Mother!"
"Let no evil counsellors enter; let you and me, my heart, alone
see Mother."
"Thou art beyond all that lives!"
"My Moon of life, my Soul of soul!"
SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
Mind is an instrument in the hand of Atman, just as body is an
instrument in the hand of mind. Matter is motion outside, mind is
motion inside. All change begins and ends in time. If the Atman is
unchangeable, It must be perfect; if perfect, It must be infinite;
and if It be infinite, It must be only One; there cannot be two
infinites. So the Atman, the Self, can be only One. Though It
seems to be various, It is really only One. If a man were to go
toward the sun, at every step he would see a different sun, and
yet it would be the same sun after all.
Asti, "isness", is the basis of all unity; and just as soon as the
basis is found, perfection ensues. If all colour could be resolved
into one colour, painting would cease. The perfect oneness is
rest; we refer all manifestations to one Being. Taoists,
Confucianists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Mohammedans, Christians,
and Zoroastrians, all preached the golden rule and in almost the
same words; but only the Hindus have given the rationale, because
they saw the reason: Man must love others because those others are
himself. There is but One.
Of all the great religious teachers the world has known, only
Lao-tze, Buddha, and Jesus transcended the golden rule and said,
"Do good to your enemies", "Love them that hate you."
Principles exist; we do not create them, we only discover them. .
. . Religion consists solely in realisation. Doctrines are
methods, not religion. All the different religions are but
applications of the one religion adapted to suit the requirements
of different nations. Theories only lead to fighting; thus the
name of God that ought to bring peace has been the cause of half
the bloodshed of the world. Go to the direct source. Ask God what
He is. Unless He answers, He is not; but every religion teaches
that He does answer.
Have something to say for yourself, else how can you have any idea
of what others have said? Do not cling to old superstitions; be
ever ready for new truths. "Fools are they who would drink
brackish water from a well that their forefathers have digged and
would not drink pure water from a well that others have digged."
Until we realise God for ourselves, we can know nothing about Him.
Each man is perfect by his nature; prophets have manifested this
perfection, but it is potential in us. How can we understand that
Moses saw God unless we too see Him? If God ever came to anyone,
He will come to me. I will go to God direct; let Him talk to me. I
cannot take belief as a basis; that is atheism and blasphemy. If
God spake to a man in the deserts of Arabia two thousand years
ago, He can also speak to me today, else how can I know that He
has not died? Come to God any way you can; only come. But in
coming do not push anyone down.
The knowing ones must have pity on the ignorant. One who knows is
willing to give up his body even for an ant, because he knows that
the body is nothing.
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
MONDAY, August 5, 1895.
The question is: Is it necessary to pass through all the lower
stages to reach the highest, or can a plunge be taken at once? The
modern American boy takes twenty-five years to attain that which
his forefathers took hundreds of years to do. The present-day
Hindu gets in twenty years to the height reached in eight thousand
years by his ancestors. On the physical side, the embryo goes from
the amoeba to man in the womb. These are the teachings of modern
science. Vedanta goes further and tells us that we not only have
to live the life of all past humanity, but also the future life of
all humanity. The man who does the first is the educated man, the
second is the Jivanmukta, forever free (even while living).
Time is merely the measure of our thoughts, and thought being
inconceivably swift, there is no limit to the speed with which we
can live the life ahead. So it cannot be stated how long it would
take to live all future life. It might be in a second, or it might
take fifty lifetimes. It depends on the intensity of the desire.
The teaching must therefore be modified according to the needs of
the taught. The consuming fire is ready for all, even water and
chunks of ice quickly consume. Fire a mass of bird-shot, one at
least will strike; give a man a whole museum of truths, he will at
once take what is suited to him. Past lives have moulded our
tendencies; give to the taught in accordance with his tendency.
Intellectual, mystical, devotional, practical - make one the
basis, but teach the others with it. Intellect must be balanced
with love, the mystical nature with reason, while practice must
form part of every method. Take every one where he stands and push
him forward. Religious teaching must always be constructive, not
destructive.
Each tendency shows the life-work of the past, the line or radius
along which that man must move. All radii lead to the centre.
Never even attempt to disturb anyone's tendencies; to do that puts
back both teacher and taught. When you teach Jnana, you must
become a Jnani and stand mentally exactly where the taught stands.
Similarly in every other Yoga. Develop every faculty as if it were
the only one possessed, this is the true secret of so-called
harmonious development. That is, get extensity with intensity, but
not at its expense. We are infinite. There is no limitation in us,
we can be as intense as the most devoted Mohammedan and as broad
as the most roaring atheist.
The way to do this is not to put the mind on any one subject, but
to develop and control the mind itself; then you can turn it on
any side you choose. Thus you keep the intensity and extensity.
Feel Jnana as if it were all there was, then do the same with
Bhakti, with Raja (-Yoga), with Karma. Give up the waves and go to
the ocean, then you can have the waves as you please. Control the
"lake" of your own mind, else you cannot understand the lake of
another's mind.
The true teacher is one who can throw his whole force into the
tendency of the taught. Without real sympathy we can never teach
well. Give up the notion that man is a responsible being, only the
perfect man is responsible. The ignorant have drunk deep of the
cup of delusion and are not sane. You, who know, must have
infinite patience with these. Have nothing but love for them and
find out the disease that has made them see the world in a wrong
light, then help them to cure it and see a right. Remember always
that only the free have free will; all the rest are in bondage and
are not responsible for what they do. Will as will is bound. The
water when melting on the top of the Himalayas is free, but
becoming the river, it is bound by the banks; yet the original
impetus carries it to the sea, and it regains its freedom. The
first is the "fall of man", the second is the "resurrection". Not
one atom can rest until it finds its freedom.
Some imaginations help to break the bondage of the rest. The whole
universe is imagination, but one set of imaginations will cure
another set. Those which tell us that there is sin and sorrow and
death in the world are terrible; but the other set which says
ever, "I am holy, there is God, there is no pain", these are good
and help to break the bondage of the others. The highest
imagination that can break all the links of the chain is that of
Personal God.
"Om tat sat" is the only thing beyond Maya, but God exists
eternally. As long as the Niagara Falls exist, the rainbow will
exist; but the water continually flows away. The falls are the
universe, and the rainbow is personal God; and both are eternal.
While the universe exists, God must exist. God creates the
universe, and the universe creates God; and both are eternal. Maya
is neither existence nor non-existence. Both the Niagara Falls and
the rainbow are eternally changeable. . . . Brahman seen through
Maya. Persians and Christians split Maya into two and call the
good half "God" and the bad half the "devil". Vedanta takes Maya
as a whole and recognises a unity beyond it - Brahman. . . .
Mohammed found that Christianity was straying out from the Semitic
fold and his teachings were to show what Christianity ought to be
as a Semitic religion, that it should hold to one God. The Aryan
idea that "I and my Father are one" disgusted and terrified him.
In reality the conception of the Trinity was a great advance over
the dualistic idea of Jehovah, who was forever separate from man.
The theory of incarnation is the first link in the chain of ideas
leading to the recognition of the oneness of God and man. God
appearing first in one human form, then re-appearing at different
times in other human forms, is at last recognised as being in
every human form, or in all men. Monistic is the highest stage,
monotheistic is a lower stage. Imagination will lead you to the
highest even more rapidly and easily than reasoning.
Let a few stand out and live for God alone and save religion for
the world. Do not pretend to be like Janaka when you are only the
"progenitor" of delusions. (The name Janaka means "progenitor" and
belonged to a king who, although he still held his kingdom for the
sake of his people, had given up everything mentally.) Be honest
and say, "I see the ideal but I cannot yet approach it"; but do
not pretend to give up when you do not. If you give up, stand
fast. If a hundred fall in the fight, seize the flag and carry it
on. God is true for all that, no matter who fails. Let him who
falls hand on the flag to another to carry on; it can never fall.
When I am washed and clean, why shall impurity be added on to me?
Seek first the kingdom of Heaven, and let everything else go. Do
not want anything "added into you"; be only glad to get rid of it.
Give up and know that success will follow, even if you never see
it. Jesus left twelve fishermen, and yet those few blew up the
Roman Empire.
Sacrifice on God's altar earth's purest and best. He who struggles
is better than he who never attempts. Even to look on one who has
given up has a purifying effect. Stand up for God; let the world
go. Have no compromise. Give up the world, then alone you are
loosened from the body. When it dies, you are âzâd, free. Be free.
Death alone can never free us. Freedom must be attained by our own
efforts during life; then, when the body falls, there will be no
rebirth for the free.
Truth is to be judged by truth and by nothing else. Doing good is
not the test of truth; the Sun needs no torch by which to see it.
Even if truth destroys the whole universe, still it is truth;
stand by it.
Practicing the concrete forms of religion is easy and attracts the
masses; but really there is nothing in the external.
"As the spider throws her web out of herself and draws it in, even
so this universe is thrown out and drawn in by God."
(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)
TUESDAY, August 6, 1895.
Without the "I" there can be no "you" outside. From this some
philosophers came to the conclusion that the external world did
not exist save in the subject; that the "you" existed only in the
"I". Others have argued that the "I" can only be known through the
"you" and with equal logic. These two views are partial truths,
each wrong in part and each right in part. Thought is as much
material and as much in nature as body is. Both matter and mind
exist in a third, a unity which divides itself into the two. This
unity is the Atman, the real Self.
There is being, "x", which is manifesting itself as both mind and
matter. Its movements in the seen are along certain fixed lines
called law. As a unity, it is free; as many, it is bound by law.
Still, with all this bondage, an idea of freedom is ever present,
and this is Nivritti, or the "dragging from attachment". The
materialising forces which through desire lead us to take an
active part in worldly affairs are called Pravritti.
That action is moral which frees us from the bondage of matter and
vice versa. This world appears infinite, because everything is in
a circle; it returns to whence it came. The circle meets, so there
is no rest or peace here in any place. We must get out. Mukti is
the one end to be attained. . . .
Evil changes in form but remains the same in quality. In ancient
times force ruled, today it is cunning. Misery in India is not so
bad as in America, because the poor man here sees the greater
contrast to his own bad condition.
Good and evil are inextricably combined, and one cannot be had
without the other. The sum total of energy in this universe is
like a lake, every wave inevitably leads to a corresponding
depression. The sum total is absolutely the same; so to make one
man happy is to make another unhappy. External happiness is
material and the supply is fixed; so that not one grain can be had
by one person without taking from another. Only bliss beyond the
material world can be had without loss to any. Material happiness
is but a transformation of material sorrow.
Those who are born in the wave and kept in it do not see the
depression and what is there. Never think, you can make the world
better and happier. The bullock in the oil-mill never reaches the
wisp of hay tied in front of him, he only grinds out the oil. So
we chase the will-o'-the-wisp of happiness that always eludes us,
and we only grind nature's mill, then die, merely to begin again.
If we could get rid of evil, we should never catch a glimpse of
anything higher; we would be satisfied and never struggle to get
free. When man finds that all search for happiness in matter is
nonsense, then religion begins. All human knowledge is but a part
of religion.
In the human body the balance between good and evil is so even
that there is a chance for man to wish to free himself from both.
The free never became bound; to ask how he did, is an illogical
question. Where no bondage is, there is no cause and effect. "I
became a fox in a dream and a dog chased me." Now how can I ask
why the dog chased me? The fox was a part of the dream, and the
dog followed as a matter of course; but both belong to the dream
and have no existence outside. Science and religion are both
attempts to help us out of the bondage; only religion is the more
ancient, and we have the superstition that it is the more holy. In
a way it is, because it makes morality a vital point, and science
does not.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This
sentence alone would save mankind if all books and prophets were
lost. This purity of heart will bring the vision of God. It is the
theme of the whole music of this universe. In purity is no
bondage. Remove the veils of ignorance by purity, then we manifest
ourselves as we really are and know that we were never in bondage.
The seeing of many is the great sin of all the world. See all as
Self and love all; let all idea of separateness go. . . .
The diabolical man is a part of my body as a wound or a burn is.
We have to nurse it and get it better; so continually nurse and
help the diabolical man, until he "heals" and is once happy and
healthy.
While we think on the relative plane, we have the right to believe
that as bodies we can be hurt by relative things and equally that
we can be helped by them. This idea of help, abstracted, is what
we call God. The sum total of all ideas of help is God.
God is the abstract compound of all that is merciful and good and
helpful; that should be the sole idea. As Atman, we have no body;
so to say, "I am God, and poison does not hurt me", is an
absurdity. While there is a body and we see it, we have not
realised God. Can the little whirlpool remain after the river
vanishes? Cry for help, and you will get it; and at last you will
find that the one crying for help has vanished, and so has the
Helper, and the play is over; only the Self remains.
This once done, come back and play as you will. This body can then
do no evil, because it is not until the evil forces are all burned
out that liberation comes. All dross has been burned out and there
remains "flame without heat and without smoke".
The past momentum carries on the body, but it can only do good,
because the bad was all gone before freedom came. The dying thief
on the cross reaped the effects of his past actions. He had been a
Yogi and had slipped; then he had to be born again; again he
slipped and became a thief; but the past good he had done bore
fruit, and he met Jesus in the moment when liberation could come,
and one word made him free.
Buddha set his greatest enemy free, because he, by hating him
(Buddha) so much, kept constantly thinking of him; that thought
purified his mind, and he became ready for freedom. Therefore
think of God all the time, and that will purify you. . . .
(Thus ended the beautiful lessons of our beloved Guru. The
following Monday he left Thousand Island Park and returned to New
York.)
Conversations and Dialogues
CONVERSATIONS AND DIALOGUES
[From the Diary of a Disciple (Shri Sharat Chandra
Chakravarty, B.A.)]
I
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: Belur, the rented Math premises. Year: 1898.]
Swamiji was staying at the time at the rented garden-house of
Nilâmbar Bâbu where the Math had been removed from Alambazar.
Arrangements had been made for Shri Ramakrishna's Tithipujâ
(Nativity) on a grand scale. On the morning of the auspicious day,
Swamiji personally inspected the preliminaries of the worship. The
inspection over, Swamiji asked the disciple, "Well, you have
brought the holy threads, I hope?"
Disciple: Yes, sir, I have. Everything is ready, as you desired.
But, sir, I can't make out why so many holy threads are in
requisition.
Swamiji: Every Dwijâti (Brâhmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas are the
Dwijatis) (twice-born) has a right to investiture with the holy
thread. The Vedas themselves are authority in this matter. Whoever
will come here on this sacred birthday of Shri Ramakrishna I shall
invest him with the holy thread. These people have fallen from
their true status, and the scriptures say that after proper
expiation, those fallen in the way earn the right to investiture
with the holy thread. This is the great day of Shri Ramakrishna's
nativity, and men will be purified by taking his name. So the
assembled devotees are to be invested with the holy thread today;
do you now understand?
Disciple: I have collected, Sir, quite a good number of holy
threads according to your instructions, and after the worship I
shall with your permission invest the Bhaktas with them.
Swamiji: To the Bhaktas who are not Brahmins, give this Mantra of
Gâyatri (here Swamiji communicated to the disciple the special
Gayatris for them.) By degrees all the people of the land have to
be lifted to the position of Brahmins, not to speak of the Bhaktas
of Shri Ramakrishna. Each Hindu, I say, is a brother of every
other, and it is we who have degraded them by our outcry, "Don't
touch, don't touch!" And so the whole country has been plunged to
the utmost depths of meanness, cowardice, and ignorance. These men
have to be uplifted; words of hope and faith have to be proclaimed
to them. We have to tell them, "You are men like us, and you have
all the rights that we have." Do you understand?
Disciple: Yes, sir, it should be so.
Swamiji: Now, ask those who will take the holy thread to finish
their bath in the Gangâ. Than after prostration before Shri
Ramakrishna, they will have their investiture.
About forty to fifty Bhaktas then duly received the Gayatri from
the disciple and were invested with the holy thread. When
receiving them, Swamiji's face beamed with profound delight. A
little after this, Shri Girish Chandra Ghosh arrived at the Math
from Calcutta.
Now arrangements for music were made at the desire of Swamiji, and
Sannyasins of the Math decorated Swamiji as a Yogin.
Swamiji now chanted with the sweetest intonation to the
accompaniment of the Tânpurâ, the Sanskrit hymn beginning with -
कुजन्तं रामरामेति ("repeating in a low tone the name of Rama"
etc.), and when the chanting came to a close, he went on repeating
with exquisite charm the holy words "Râma, Râma, Shri Râma, Râma".
His eyes were half-closed, and the natural sublimity of his
countenance seemed to have deepened a hundred-fold. Everybody
remained spelled for over half an hour.
After the chanting of Shri Rama's name, Swamiji continued to sing
a song of Tulsidas on Shri Ramachandra in the same intoxicated
strain of mind. Then other music followed.
After this, Swamiji suddenly took to putting of all the
decorations he had on his person and began to dress Girish Babu
with them. Then he declared, "Paramhansa-deva used to say our
brother is the incarnation of Bhairava (Divine companion of
Shiva.). There's no distinction between him and us." Girish Babu
sat speechless all the time. A piece of geruâ cloth was also
brought, and was draped in it and uttered no word of remonstrance.
For he had merged his self fully today in the wishes of his
brother disciples. Swamiji now said, "Well, G. C., you are to
speak to us today about Thâkur (Lord). And all of you (turning all
round himself) sit quiet and attentive." Even then, Girish Babu
sat motionless, voiceless like marble, absolutely lost in joy. And
when at last he opened his lips, he did so to say, "Ah, what can
this humble self-speak of our Lord of unbounded mercy! Verily in
this alone I realise his mercy, that to me, this lowly creature,
He has extended the privilege of sitting and mixing on the same
footing with you Sannyasins, pure from your childhood, who have
renounced all lust and lucre." While speaking thus, the words
choked in his throat, and he could not speak anything more.
After this, some pieces of Hindu music were rendered by Swamiji.
The devotees were now called to partake of refreshments. After
refreshments, Swamiji came and took his seat in the parlour on the
ground-floor, and all the many visitors sat round him. Accosting a
house-holder friend who had his investiture with the holy thread
that day, Swamiji said, "Really you all belong to the twice-born
castes, only it is long since you lost your status. From this day
again you become the twice-born. Repeat the Gayatri at least a
hundred times daily, won't you?" The householder expressed his
assent.
Meanwhile Srijut Mahendranath Gupta (Master Mahâshaya [Venerable],
or "M") appeared on the scene. Swamiji cordially received him and
made him take his seat. "Master Mahashaya," said Swamiji, "this is
the anniversary of Shri Ramakrishna's birthday. So you shall have
to relate to us something about him." Master Mahashaya bent his
head down smilingly in reply.
Just then it was announced that Swami Akhandananda had come from
Murshidabad with two Pântuâs which weighed one maund and a half!
All of us hurried out to see these prodigious Pantuas. When
they were shown to Swamiji, he said, "Take them up to the chapel
for offering."
Making Swami Akhandananda the subject of his remarks, Swamiji said
to the disciple, "Mark you, what a great hero he is in work! Of
fear, death and the like he has no cognisance - doggedly going on
doing his own work - 'work for the welfare of the many, for the
happiness of the many'."
Disciple: Sir, that power must have come to him as the result of a
good deal of austerities.
Swamiji: True, power comes of austerities; but again, working for
the sake of others itself constitutes Tapasyâ (practice of
austerity). The karma-yogins regard work itself as part of
Tapasya. As on the one hand the practice of Tapasya intensifies
altruistic feelings in the devotee and actuates him to unselfish
work, so also the pursuit of work for the sake of others carries
the worker to the last fruition of Tapasya, namely the
purification of the heart, and leads him thus to the realisation
of the supreme Âtman (Self).
Disciple: But, sir, how few of us can work whole-heartedly for the
sake of others from the very outset! How difficult it is for such
broad-mindedness to come at all as will make men sacrifice the
desire for their own happiness and devote their lives for others!
Swamiji: And how many have their minds going after Tapasya? With
the attraction for lust and lucre working the other way, how many
long for the realisation of God? In fact, disinterested work is
quite as difficult as Tapasya. So you have no right to say
anything against those who go in for work in the cause of others.
If you find Tapasya to be to your liking, well, go on with it.
Another may find work as congenial to himself, and you have no
right to make a prohibition in his case. You seem to have the
settled idea in your mind that work is no Tapasya at all!
Disciple: Yes, sir, before this I used to mean quite a different
thing by Tapasya.
Swamiji: As by continuing our religious practices we gradually
develop a certain determined tendency for it, so by performing
disinterested work over and over again, even unwillingly, we
gradually find the will merging itself in it. The inclination to
work for others develops in this way, do you see? Just do some
such work even though unwillingly, and then see if the actual
fruit of Tapasya is realised within or not. As the outcome of work
for the sake of others, the angularities of the mind get smoothed
down, and men are gradually prepared for sincere self-sacrifice
for the good of others.
Disciple: But, sir, what is the necessity at all for doing good to
others?
Swamiji: Well, it is necessary for one's own good. We become
forgetful of the ego when we think of the body as dedicated to the
service of others - the body with which most complacently we
identify the ego. And in the long run comes the consciousness of
disembodiness. The more intently you think of the well-being of
others, the more oblivious of self you become. In this way, as
gradually your heart gets purified by work, you will come to feel
the truth that your own Self is pervading all beings and all
things. Thus it is that doing good to others constitutes a way, a
means of revealing one's own Self or Âtman. Know this also to be
one of the spiritual practices, a discipline for God-realisation.
Its aim also is Self-realisation. Exactly as that aim is attained
by Jnâna (knowledge), Bhakti (devotion) and so on, also by work
for the sake of others.
Disciple: But, sir, if I am to keep thinking of others day and
night, when shall I contemplate on the Atman? If I rest wholly
occupied with something particular and relative, how can I realise
the Atman which is Absolute?
Swamiji: The highest aim of all disciplines, all spiritual paths,
is the attainment of the knowledge of Atman. If you, by being
devoted to the service of others and by getting your heart
purified by such work, attain to the vision of all beings as the
Self, what else remains to be attained in the way of
Self-realisation? Would you say that Self-realisation is the state
of existing as inert matter, as this wall or as this piece of
wood, for instance?
Disciple: Though that is not the meaning, yet what the scriptures
speak of as the withdrawal of the Self into Its real nature
consists in the arresting of all mind-functions and all work.
Swamiji: Yes, this Samâdhi of which the scriptures speak is a
state not at all easy to attain. When very rarely it appears in
somebody, it does not last for long; so what will he keep himself
occupied with? Thus it is that after realising that state
described in the scriptures, the saint sees the Self in all beings
and in that consciousness devotes himself to service, so that any
Karma that was yet left to be worked out through the body may
exhaust itself. It is this state which has been described by the
authors of the Shâstras (scriptures) as Jivanmukti, "Freedom while
living".
Disciple: So after all it comes about, sir, that unless this state
of Jivanmukti is attained, work for the sake of others can never
be pursued in the truest sense of the term.
Swamiji: Yes, that is what the Shastras say, but they also say
that work or service for the good of others leads to this state of
Jivanmukti. Otherwise there would be no need on the part of the
Shastras to teach a separate path of religious practice, called
the Karma-Yoga.
The disciple now understood the point and became silent, and
Swamiji giving up the point commenced rendering in a voice of
superhuman sweetness the song composed by Babu Girish Chandra
Ghosh to commemorate Shri Ramakrishna's Nativity, and beginning:
"Who art Thou lying on the lap of the poor Brahmin matron."
II
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: The rented Math premises at Belur. Year: 1898.]
Today Swamiji is to perform a sacrifice and install Shri
Ramakrishna on the site of the new Math. The disciple has been
staying at the Math since the night before, with a view to
witnessing the installation ceremony.
In the morning Swamiji had his bath in the Ganga and entered the
worship-room. Then he made offerings to the sacred Pâdukâs
(slippers) of Shri Ramakrishna and fell to meditation.
Meditation and worship over, preparations were now made for going
to the new Math premises. Swamiji himself took on his right
shoulder the ashes of Shri Ramakrishna's body preserved in a
copper casket, and led the van. The disciple in company with other
Sannyasins brought up the rear. There was the music of bells and
conchs. On his way Swamiji said to the disciple, "Shri Ramakrishna
said to me, 'Wherever you will take me on your shoulders, there I
will go and stay, be it under a tree or in a hut.' It is therefore
that I am myself carrying him on my shoulders to the new Math
grounds. Know it for certain that Shri Ramakrishna will keep his
seat fixed there, for the welfare of many, for a long time to
come."
Disciple: When was it that he said this to you?
Swamiji: (Pointing to the Sâdhus of the Math) Didn't you hear from
them? It was at the Cossipur garden.
Disciple: I see. It was on this occasion, I suppose, that the
split took place between Shri Ramakrishna's Sannyâsin and
householder disciples regarding the privilege of serving him?
Swamiji: Yes, but not exactly a "split" - it was only a
misunderstanding, that's all. Rest assured that among those that
are Shri Ramakrishna's devotees, and have truly obtained his
grace, there is no sect or schism, there cannot be - be they
householders or Sannyasins. As to that kind of slight
misunderstanding, do you know what it was due to? Well, each
devotee colours Shri Ramakrishna in the light of his own
understanding and each forms his own idea of him from his peculiar
standpoint. He was, as it were, a great Sun and each one of us is
eyeing him, as it were, through a different kind of colored glass
and coming to look upon that one Sun as parti-coloured. Of course,
it is quite true that this leads to schism in course of time. But
then, such schisms rarely occur in the lifetime of those who are
fortunate enough to have come in direct contact with an Avatâra.
The effulgence of that Personality, who takes pleasure only in the
Self, dazzles their eyes and sweeps away pride, egotism, and
narrow-mindedness from their minds. Consequently they find no
opportunity to create sects and party factions. They are content
to offer him their heart's worship, each in his own fashion.
Disciple: Sir, do the devotees of Avatara, then view him
differently notwithstanding their knowing him to be God, and does
this lead the succeeding generations of their followers to limit
themselves within narrow bounds and form various little sects?
Swamiji: Quite so. Hence sects are bound to form in course of
time. Look, for instance, how the followers of Chaitanya Deva have
been divided into two or three hundred sects; and those of Jesus
hold thousands of creeds. But all those sects without exception
follow Chaitanya Deva or Jesus, and none else.
Disciple: Then, perhaps, Shri Ramakrishna's followers, too, will
be divided in course of time into various sects?
Swamiji: Well, of course. But then this Math that we are building
will harmonise all creeds, all standpoints. Just as Shri
Ramakrishna held highly liberal views, this Math, too, will be a
centre for propagating similar ideas. The blazing light of
universal harmony that will emanate from here will flood the whole
world.
While all this was going on, the party reached the Math premises.
Swamiji took the casket down from his shoulder, placed it on the
carpet spread on the ground, and bowed before it touching the
ground with his forehead. Others too followed suit.
Then Swamiji again sat for worship. After going through Pujâ
(worship), he lighted the sacrificial fire, made oblations to it,
and himself cooking Pâyasa (milk-rice with sugar) with the help of
his brother-disciples, offered it to Shri Ramakrishna. Probably
also he initiated certain householders on the spot that day. All
this ceremony being done, Swamiji cordially addressed the
assembled gentlemen and said, "Pray today all of you, heart and
soul, to the holy feet of Shri Ramakrishna, that the great Avatara
of this cycle that he is, he may, "For the welfare of the many,
and for the happiness of the many - बहुजनहिताय बहुजनसुखाय", reside
in this holy spot from this day for a great length of time, and
ever continue to make it the unique centre of harmony amongst all
religions." Everyone prayed like that with folded palms. Swamiji
next called the disciple and said, "None of us (Sannyasins) have
any longer the right to take back this casket of Shri Ramakrishna,
for we have installed him here today. It behoves you, therefore,
to take it on your head back (to Nilambar Babu's garden)". Seeing
that the disciple hesitated to touch the casket, Swamiji said, "No
fear, touch it, you have my order." The disciple gladly obeyed the
injunction, lifted the casket on his head, and moved on. He went
first, next came Swamiji, and the rest followed. Swamiji said to
the disciple on the way, "Shri Ramakrishna has today sat on your
head and is blessing you. Take care, never let your mind think of
anything transitory, from this day forth." Before crossing a small
bridge, Swamiji again said to him, "Beware, now, you must move
very cautiously."
Thus all safely reached the Math and rejoiced. Swamiji now entered
into a conversation with the disciple, in the course of which he
said, "Through the will of Shri Ramakrishna, his Dharmakshetra -
sanctified spot - has been established today. A twelve years'
anxiety is off my head. Do you know what I am thinking of at this
moment? - This Math will be a center of learning and spiritual
discipline. Householders of a virtuous turn like yourselves will
build houses on the surrounding land and live there, and
Sannyasins, men of renunciation, will live in the center, while on
that plot of land on the south of the Math, buildings will be
erected for English and American disciples to live in. How do you
like this idea?
Disciple: Sir, it is indeed a wonderful fancy of yours.
Swamiji: A fancy do you call it? Not at all, everything will come
about in time. I am but laying the foundation. There will be lots
of further developments in future. Some portion of it I shall live
to work out. And I shall infuse into you fellows various ideas,
which you will work out in future. It will not do merely to listen
to great principles. You must apply them in the practical field,
turn them into constant practice. What will be the good of
cramming the high-sounding dicta of the scriptures? You have first
to grasp the teachings of the Shastras, and then to work them out
in practical life. Do you understand? This is called practical
religion.
Thus the talk went on, and gradually drifted to the topic of
Shankarâchârya. The disciple was a great adherent of Shankara,
almost to the point of fanaticism. He used to look upon Shankara's
Advaita philosophy as the crest of all philosophies and could not
bear any criticism of him. Swamiji was aware of this, and, as was
his wont, wanted to break this one-sidedness of the disciple.
Swamiji: Shankara's intellect was sharp like the razor. He was a
good arguer and a scholar, no doubt of that, but he had no great
liberality; his heart too seems to have been like that. Besides,
he used to take great pride in his Brahmanism - much like a
southern Brahmin of the priest class, you may say. How he has
defended in his commentary on the Vedanta-Sutras that the
non-Brahmin castes will not attain to a supreme knowledge of
Brahman! And what specious arguments! Referring to Vidura he
has said that he became a knower of Brahman by reason of his
Brahmin body in the previous incarnation. Well, if nowadays any
Shudra attains to a knowledge of Brahman, shall we have to side
with your Shankara and maintain that because he had been a Brahmin
in his previous birth, therefore he has attained to this
knowledge? Goodness! What is the use of dragging in Brahminism
with so much ado? The Vedas have entitled any one belonging to the
three upper castes to study the Vedas and the realisation of
Brahman, haven't they? So Shankara had no need whatsoever of
displaying this curious bit of pedantry on this subject, contrary
to the Vedas. And such was his heart that he burnt to death lots
of Buddhist monks - by defeating them in argument! And the
Buddhists, too, were foolish enough to burn themselves to death,
simply because they were worsted in argument! What can you call
such an action on Shankara's part except fanaticism? But look at
Buddha's heart! - Ever ready to give his own life to save the life
of even a kid - what to speak of "बहुजनहिताय बहुजनसुखाय -
For the welfare of the many, for the happiness of the many"! See,
what a large-heartedness - what a compassion!
Disciple: Can't we call that attitude of the Buddha, too, another
kind of fanaticism, sir? He went to the length of sacrificing his
own body for the sake of a beast!
Swamiji: But consider how much good to the world and its beings
came out of that 'fanaticism' of his - how many monasteries and
schools and colleges, how many public hospitals and veterinary
refuges were established, how developed architecture became -
think of that. What was there in this country before Buddha's
advent? Only a number of religious principles recorded on bundles
of palm leaves - and those too known only to a few. It was Lord
Buddha who brought them down to the practical field and showed how
to apply them in the everyday life of the people. In a sense, he
was the living embodiment of true Vedanta.
Disciple: But, sir, it was he who by breaking down the Varnâshrama
Dharma (duty according to caste and order of life) brought about a
revolution within the fold of Hinduism in India, and there seems
to be some truth also in the remark that the religion he preached
was for this reason banished in course of time from the soil of
India.
Swamiji: It was not through his teachings that Buddhism came to
such degradation, it was the fault of his followers. By becoming
too philosophic they lost much of their breadth of heart. Then
gradually the corruption known as Vâmâchâra (unrestrained mixing
with women in the name of religion) crept in and ruined Buddhism.
Such diabolical rites are not to be met with in any modern Tantra!
One of the principal centres of Buddhism was Jagannâtha or Puri,
and you have simply to go there and look at the abominable figures
carved on the temple walls to be convinced of this. Puri has come
under the sway of the Vaishnavas since the time of Râmânuja and
Shri Chaitanya. Through the influence of great personages like
these the place now wears an altogether different aspect.
Disciple: Sir, the Shastras tell us of various special influences
attaching to places of pilgrimage. How far is this claim true?
Swamiji: When the whole world is the Form Universal of the Eternal
Atman, the Ishvara (God), what is there to wonder at in special
influences attaching to particular places? There are places where
He manifests Himself specially, either spontaneously or through
the earnest longing of pure souls, and the ordinary man, if he
visits those places with eagerness, attains his end quite easily.
Therefore it may lead to the development of the Self in time to
have recourse to holy places. But know it for certain that there
is no greater Tirtha (holy spot) than the body of man. Nowhere
else is the Atman so manifest as here. That car of Jagannatha that
you see is but a concrete symbol of this corporeal car. You have
to behold the Atman in this car of the body. Haven't you read
"आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि - Know the Atman to be seated on the
chariot" etc., "मध्ये वामनमासीनं विश्वे देवा उपासते - All the gods
worship the Vâmana (the Supreme Being in a diminutive form) seated
in the interior of the body"? The sight of the Atman is the real
vision of Jagannatha. And the statement "रथे च वामनं दृष्टा
पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते - Seeing the Vâmana on the car, one is no more
subject to rebirth", means that if you can visualise the Atman
which is within you, and disregarding which you are always
identifying yourself with this curious mass of matter, this body
of yours - if you can see that, then there is no more rebirth for
you. If the sight of the Lord's image on a wooden framework
confers liberation on people, then crores of them would be
liberated every year - specially with such facility of
communication by rail nowadays! But I do not mean to say that the
notion which devotees in general entertain towards Shri Jagannatha
is either nothing or erroneous. There is a class of people who
gradually rise to higher and higher truths with the help of that
image. So it is an undoubted fact that in and through that image
there is a special manifestation of the Lord.
Disciple: Sir, are there different religions then for the ignorant
and the wise?
Swamiji: Quite so. Otherwise why do your scriptures go to such
lengths over the specification of the qualifications of an
aspirant? All is truth no doubt, but relative truth, different in
degrees. Whatever man knows to be truth is of a like nature: some
are lesser truths, others, higher ones in comparison with them,
while the Absolute Truth is God alone. This Atman is altogether
dormant in matter; in man, designated as a living being, It is
partially conscious; while in personages like Shri Krishna,
Buddha, and Shankara the same Atman has reached the super
conscious stage. There is a state even beyond that, which cannot
be expressed in terms of thought or language - अवाङ्मनसो गोचरम्।
Disciple: Sir, there are certain Bhakti sects who hold that we
must practice devotion by placing ourselves in a particular
attitude or relation with God. They do not understand anything
about the glory of the Atman and so forth, and exclusively
recommend this constant devotional attitude.
Swamiji: What they say is true to their own case. By continued
practice along this line, they too shall feel an awakening of
Brahman within them. And what we (Sannyasins) are doing is another
kind of practice. We have renounced the world. So how will it suit
us to practise by putting ourselves in some worldly relation -
such as that of mother, or father, or wife or son, and so forth -
with God? To us all these ideals appear to be narrow. Of course it
is very difficult to qualify for the worship of God in His
absolute, unconditioned aspect. But must we go in for poison
because we get no nectar? Always talk and hear and reason about
this Atman. By continuing to practice in this way, you will find
in time that the Lion (Brahman) will wake up in you too. Go beyond
all those relative attitudes - mere sports of the mind. Listen to
what Yama says in the Katha Upanisad: उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य
वरान्निबोधत। (Arise, awake, and learn by approaching the élite.)
Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached!
Here the subject was brought to a close. The bell for taking
Prasâda (consecrated food) rang, and Swamiji went to partake of
it, followed by the disciple.