Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - Vol-7
XXIV
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: The Math, Belur. Year: 1902.]
After returning from Eastern Bengal Swamiji stayed in the Math and
lived a simple childlike life. Every year some Santal labourers
used to work in the Math. Swamiji would joke and make fun with
them and loved to hear their tales of weal and woe. One day
several noted gentlemen of Calcutta came to visit Swamiji in the
Math. That day Swamiji had started such a warm talk with the
Santals that, when he was informed of the arrival of those
gentlemen, he said, "I shan't be able to go now. I am happy with
these men." Really that day Swamiji did not leave the poor Santals
to see those visitors.
One among the Santals was named Keshta. Swamiji loved Keshta very
much. Whenever Swamiji came to talk with them, Keshta used to say
to Swamiji, "O my Swamiji, do not come to us when we are working,
for while talking with you our work stops and the supervising
Swami rebukes us afterwards." Swamiji would be touched by these
words and say, "No, no, he will not say anything; tell me a little
about your part of the country" - saying which he used to
introduce the topic of their worldly affairs.
One day Swamiji said to Keshta, "Well, will you take food here one
day?" Keshta said, "We do not take food touched by you; if you put
salt in our food and we eat it, we shall lose our caste." Swamiji
said, "Why should you take salt? We will prepare curry for you
without salt, will you then take it?" Keshta agreed to it. Then at
orders of Swamiji, bread, curry, sweets, curd, etc. were arranged
for the Santals, and he made them sit before him to eat. While
eating, Keshta said, "Whence have you got such a thing? We never
tasted anything like this." Feeding them sumptuously, Swamiji
said, "You are Nârâyanas, God manifest; today I have offered food
to Narayana." The service of "Daridra Narayana" - God in the poor
- about which Swamiji spoke, he himself performed one day like
this.
After their meal, the Santals went for rest, and Swamiji,
addressing the disciple, said, "I found them the veritable
embodiment of God - such simplicity, such sincere guileless love I
have seen nowhere else." Then, addressing the Sannyasins of the
Math, he said, "See how simple they are. Can you mitigate their
misery a little? Otherwise, of what good is the wearing of the
Gerua robe? Sacrifice of everything for the good of others is real
Sannyasa. They have never enjoyed any good thing in life.
Sometimes I feel a desire to sell the Math and everything, and
distribute the money to the poor and destitute. We have made the
tree our shelter. Alas! The people of the country cannot get
anything to eat, and how can we have the heart to raise food to
our mouths? When I was in the Western countries, I prayed to the
Divine Mother, "People here are sleeping on a bed of flowers, they
eat all kinds of delicacies, and what do they not enjoy, while
people in our country are dying of starvation. Mother, will there
be no way for them! One of the objects of my going to the West to
preach religion was to see if I could find any means for feeding
the people of this country.
"Seeing the poor people of our country starving for food, a desire
comes to me to overthrow all ceremonial worship and learning, and
go round from village to village collecting money from the rich by
convincing them through force of character and Sadhana, and to
spend the whole life in serving the poor.
"Alas! Nobody thinks of the poor of this land. They are the
backbone of the country, who by their labour are producing
food-these poor people, the sweepers and labourers, who if they
stop work for one day will create a panic in the town. But there
is none to sympathise with them, none to console them in their
misery. Just see, for want of sympathy from the Hindus, thousands
of Pariahs in Madras are turning Christians. Don't think this is
simply due to the pinch of hunger; it is because they do not get
any sympathy from us. We are day and night calling out to them,
'Don't touch us! Don't touch us!' Is there any compassion or
kindliness of heart in the country? Only a class of
'Don't-touchists'; kick such customs out! I sometimes feel the
urge to break the barriers of 'Don't-touchism', to go at once and
call out, 'Come, all who are poor, miserable, wretched, and
down-trodden', and to bring them all together in the name of Shri
Ramakrishna. Unless they rise, the Mother won't awaken. We could
not make any provision for food and clothes for these - what have
we done then? Alas! they know nothing of worldliness, and
therefore even after working day and night cannot provide
themselves with food and clothes. Let us open their eyes. I see
clear as daylight that there is the one Brahman in all, in them
and in me - one Shakti dwells in all. The only difference is of
manifestation. Unless the blood circulates over the whole body,
has any country risen at any time? If one limb is paralysed, then
even with the other limbs whole, not much can be done with that
body - know this for certain."
Disciple: Sir, there is such a diversity of religions and ideas
among the people of this country that it is a difficult affair to
bring harmony among them.
Swamiji (in anger): If you think any work difficult, then do not
come here. Through the grace of God all paths become easy. Your
work is to serve the poor and miserable, without any distinction
of caste or colour, and you have no need to think about the
results. Your duty is to go on working, and then everything will
follow of itself. My method of work is to construct and not to
pull down. Read the history of the world, and you will find that a
great soul stood as the central figure in a certain period of a
country. Animated by his ideas, hundreds of people did good to the
world. You are all intelligent boys, and have been coming here for
a long time. Say, what have you done? Couldn't you give one life
for the service of others? In the next life you may read Vedanta
and other philosophies. Give this life for the service of others,
then I shall know that your coming here has not been in vain.
Saying these words, Swamiji sat silent, wrapt in deep thought.
After some time, he added, "After so much austerity, I have
understood this as the real truth - God is present in every Jiva;
there is no other God besides that 'Who serves Jiva, serves God
indeed'." After some pause Swamiji, addressing the disciple, said,
"What I have told you today, inscribe in your heart. See that you
do not forget it."
XXV
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: The Math, Belur. Year: beginning of 1902.]
It was Saturday, and the disciple came to the Math just before
evening. An austere routine was being followed now at the Math
regarding spiritual practices. Swamiji had issued an order that
all Brahmacharins and Sannyasins should get up very early in the
morning and practice Japa and meditation in the worship-room.
Swamiji was having little sleep during these days, and would rise
from bed at three in the morning.
On the disciple saluting Swamiji just after his appearance at the
Math, he said, "Well, see how they are practising religious
exercises here nowadays. Everyone passes a considerable time in
Japa and meditation on mornings and evenings. Look there - a bell
has been procured, which is used for rousing all from sleep.
Everyone has to get up before dawn. Shri Ramakrishna used to say,
'In the morning and evening the mind remains highly imbued with
Sattva ideas; those are the times when one should meditate with
earnestness.'
"After the passing away of Shri Ramakrishna we underwent a lot of
religious practice at the Baranagore Math. We used to get up at 3
a.m. and after washing our face etc.- some after bath, and others
without it - we would sit in the worship-room and become absorbed
in Japa and meditation. What a strong spirit of dispassion we had
in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the world
existed or not. Ramakrishnananda busied himself day and night with
the duties pertaining to Shri Ramakrishna's worship and service,
and occupied the same position in the Math as the mistress of the
house does in a family. It was he who would procure, mostly by
begging, the requisite articles for Shri Ramakrishna's worship and
our subsistence. There have been days when the Japa and meditation
continued from morning till four or five in the afternoon.
Ramakrishnananda waited and waited with our meals ready, till at
last he would come and snatch us from our meditation by sheer
force. Oh, what a wonderful constancy of devotion we have noticed
in him!"
Disciple: Sir, how did you use to meet the Math expenses then?
Swamiji: What a question! Well, we were Sadhus, and what would
come by begging and other means, would be utilised for defraying
the Math expenses. Today both Suresh Babu (Surendra Nath Mitra)
and Balaram Babu are no more; had they been alive they would have
been exceedingly glad to see this Math. You have doubtless heard
Suresh Babu's name. It was he who used to bear all the expenses of
the Baranagore Math. It was this Suresh Mitra who used to think
most for us in those days. His devotion and faith have no
parallel!
Disciple; Sir, I have heard that you did not see him very often
while he was dying.
Swamiji: We could only do so if we were allowed (by his
relatives). Well, it is a long tale. But know this for certain
that among worldly people it is of little count to your relatives
and kinsmen whether you live or die. If you succeed in leaving
some property, you will find even in your lifetime that there has
been set up a brawl over it in your household. You will have no
one to console you in your death-bed - not even your wife and
sons! Such is the way of the world!
Referring to the past condition of the Math, Swamiji went on,
"Owing to want of funds I would sometimes fight for abolishing the
Math altogether. But I could never induce Ramakrishnananda to
accede to the proposal. Know Ramakrishnananda to be the central
figure of the Math. There have been days when the Math was without
a grain of food. If some rice was collected by begging, there was
no salt to take it with! On some days there would be only rice and
salt, but nobody cared for it in the least. We were then being
carried away by a tidal wave of spiritual practice. Boiled Bimba
leaves, rice, and salt - this was the menu for a month at a
stretch. Oh, those wonderful days! The austerities of that period
were enough to dismay supernatural beings, not to speak of men.
But it is a tremendous truth that if there be real worth in you,
the more are circumstances against you, the more will that inner
power manifest itself. But the reason why I have provided for beds
and a tolerable living in this Math is that the Sannyasins that
are enrolling themselves nowadays will not be able to bear so much
strain as we did. There was the life of Shri Ramakrishna before
us, and that was why we did not care much for privations and
hardships. Boys of this generation will not be able to undergo so
much hardship. Hence it is that I have provided for some sort of
habitation and a bare subsistence for them. If they get just
enough food and clothing, the boys will devote themselves to
religious practice and will learn to sacrifice their lives for the
good of humanity."
Disciple: Sir, outside people say a good deal against this sort of
bedding and furniture.
Swamiji: Let them say. Even in jest they will at least once think
of this Math. And they say, it is easier to attain liberation
through cherishing a hostile spirit. Shri Ramakrishna used to say,
"Men should be ignored like worms." Do you mean we have to conduct
ourselves according to the chance opinion of others? Pshaw!
Disciple: Sir, you sometimes say, "All are Nârâyanas, the poor and
the needy are my Narayanas", and again you say, "Men should be
ignored like worms." What do you really mean?
Swamiji: Well, there is not the least doubt that all are
Narayanas. But all Narayanas do not criticise the furniture of the
Math. I shall go on working for the good of men, without caring in
the least for the criticisms of others - it is in this sense that
the expression, "Men are to be ignored like worms", has been used.
He who has a dogged determination like that shall have everything.
Only some may have it sooner, and others a little later, that is
all. But one is bound to reach the goal. It is because we had such
a determination that we have attained the little that we have.
Otherwise, what dire days of privation we have had to pass
through! One day, for want of food I fainted in the outer platform
of a house on the roadside and quite a shower of rain had passed
over my head before I recovered my senses! Another day, I had to
do odd jobs in Calcutta for the whole day without food, and had my
meal on my return to the Math at ten or eleven in the night. And
these were not solitary instances.
Saying these words, Swamiji sat for a while pursuing some trend of
thought. Then he resumed:
Real monasticism is not easy to attain. There is no order of life
so rigorous as this. If you stumble ever so little, you are hurled
down a precipice - and are smashed to pieces. One day I was
travelling on foot from Agra to Vrindaban. There was not a
farthing with me. I was about a couple of miles from Vrindaban
when I found a man smoking on the roadside, and I was seized with
a desire to smoke. I said to the man, "Hallo, will you let me have
a puff at your Chillum?" He seemed to be hesitating greatly and
said, "Sire, I am a sweeper." Well, there was the influence of old
Samskaras, and I immediately stepped back and resumed my journey
without smoking. I had gone a short distance when the thought
occurred to me that I was a Sannyasin, who had renounced caste,
family, prestige, and everything - and still I drew back as soon
as the man gave himself out as a sweeper, and could not smoke at
the Chillum touched by him! The thought made me restless at heart;
then I had walked on half a mile. Again I retraced my steps and
came to the sweeper whom I found still sitting there. I hastened
to tell him, "Do prepare a Chillum of tobacco for me, my dear
friend." I paid no heed to his objections and insisted on having
it. So the man was compelled to prepare a Chillum for me. Then I
gladly had a puff at it and proceeded to Vrindaban. When one has
embraced the monastic life, one has to test whether one has gone
beyond the prestige of caste and birth, etc. It is so difficult to
observe the monastic vow in right earnest! There must not be the
slightest divergence between one's words and actions.
Disciple: Sir, you sometimes hold before us the householder's
ideal and sometimes the ideal of the Sannyasin. Which one are we
to adopt?
Swamiji: Well, go on listening to all. Then stick to that one
which appeals to you - grip it hard like a bulldog.
Swamiji came downstairs accompanied by the disciple, while
speaking these words, and began to pace to and fro, uttering now
and then the name of Shiva or humming a song on the Divine Mother,
such as, "Who knows how diversely Thou playest, O Mother, Thou
flowing stream of nectar", and so on.
XXVI
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: The Math, Belur. Year: 1902.]
The disciple passed the preceding night in Swamiji's room. At 4
a.m. Swamiji roused him and said "Go and knock up the Sadhus and
Brahmacharins from sleep with the bell." In pursuance of the
order, the disciple rang the bell near the Sadhus who slept. The
monastic inmates hastened to go to the worship-room for
meditation.
According to Swamiji's instructions, the disciple rang the bell
lustily near Swami Brahmananda's bed, which made the latter
exclaim, "Good heavens! The Bângâl (Meaning an East Bengal man,
used as a term of endearing reproach for the disciple.) has made
it too hot for us to stay in the Math!" On the disciple's
communicating this to Swamiji, he burst out into a hearty laugh,
saying, "Well done!"
Then Swamiji, too, washed his face and entered the chapel
accompanied by the disciple.
The Sannyasins - Swami Brahmananda and others - were already
seated for meditation. A separate seat was kept for Swamiji, on
which he sat facing the east, and pointing to a seat in front to
the disciple, said, "Go and meditate, sitting there."
Shortly after taking his seat, Swamiji became perfectly calm and
motionless, like a statue, and his breathing became very slow.
Everyone else kept his seat.
After about an hour and a half, Swamiji rose from meditation with
the words "Shiva, Shiva". His eyes were flushed, the expression
placid, calm, and grave. Bowing before Shri Ramakrishna he came
downstairs and paced the courtyard of the Math. After a while he
said to the disciple. "Do you see how the Sadhus are practising
meditation etc. nowadays? When the meditation is deep, one sees
many wonderful things. While meditating at the Baranagore Math,
one day I saw the nerves Idâ and Pingalâ. One can see them with a
little effort. Then, when one has a vision of the Shushumnâ, one
can see anything one likes. If a man has unflinching devotion to
the Guru, spiritual practices - meditation, Japa, and so forth -
come quite naturally; one need not struggle for them. 'The Guru is
Brahmâ, the Guru is Vishnu, and the Guru is Shiva Himself.'"
Then the disciple prepared tobacco for Swamiji and when he
returned with it, Swamiji spoke as he puffed at it, "Within there
is the lion - the eternally pure, illumined, and ever free Atman;
and directly one realises Him through meditation and
concentration, this world of Maya vanishes. He is equally present
in all; and the more one practises, the quicker does the Kundalini
(the 'coiled-up' power) awaken in him. When this power reaches the
head, one's vision is unobstructed - one realises the Atman."
Disciple: Sir, I have only read of these things in the scriptures,
but nothing has been realised as yet.
Swamiji: कालेत्मनि विन्दति - is bound to come in time. But some
attain this early, and others are a little late. One must stick to
it - determined never to let it go. This is true manliness. You
must keep the mind fixed on one object, like an unbroken stream of
oil. The ordinary man's mind is scattered on different objects,
and at the time of meditation, too, the mind is at first apt to
wander. But let any desire whatever arise in the mind, you must
sit calmly and watch what sort of ideas are coming. By continuing
to watch in that way, the mind becomes calm, and there are no more
thought-waves in it. These waves represent the thought-activity of
the mind. Those things that you have previously thought deeply,
have transformed themselves into a subconscious current, and
therefore these come up in the mind in meditation. The rise of
these waves, or thoughts, during meditation is an evidence that
your mind is tending towards concentration. Sometimes the mind is
concentrated on a set of ideas - this is called meditation with
Vikalpa or oscillation. But when the mind becomes almost free from
all activities, it melts in the inner Self, which is the essence
of infinite Knowledge, One, and Itself Its own support. This is
what is called Nirvikalpa Samâdhi, free from all activities. In
Shri Ramakrishna we have again and again noticed both these forms
of Samadhi. He had not to struggle to get these states. They came
to him spontaneously, then and there. It was a wonderful
phenomenon. It was by seeing him that we could rightly understand
these things. Meditate every day alone. Everything will open up of
itself. Now the Divine Mother - the embodiment of illumination -
is sleeping within, hence you do not understand this. She is the
Kundalini. When, before meditating, you proceed to "purify the
nerves", you must mentally strike hard on the Kundalini in the
Mulâdhâra (sacral plexus), and repeat, "Arise, Mother, arise!" One
must practise these slowly. During meditation, suppress the
emotional side altogether. This is a great source of danger. Those
that are very emotional no doubt have their Kundalini rushing
quickly upwards, but it is as quick to come down as to go up. And
when it does come down, it leaves the devotee in a state of utter
ruin. It is for this reason that Kirtanas and other auxiliaries to
emotional development have a great drawback. It is true that by
dancing and jumping, etc. through a momentary impulse, that power
is made to course upwards, but it is never enduring. On the
contrary when it traces back its course, it rouses violent lust in
the individual. Listening to my lectures in America, through
temporary excitement many among the audience used to get into an
ecstatic state, and some would even become motionless like
statues. But on inquiry I afterwards found that many of them had
an excess of the carnal instinct immediately after that state. But
this happens simply owing to a lack of steady practice in
meditation and concentration.
Disciple: Sir, in no scriptures have I ever read these secrets of
spiritual practice. Today I have heard quite new things.
Swamiji: Do you think the scriptures contain all the secrets of
spiritual practice? These are being handed down secretly through a
succession of Gurus and disciples. Practise meditation and
concentration with the utmost care. Place fragrant flowers in
front and burn incense. At the outset take such external help as
will make the mind pure. As you repeat the name of your Guru and
Ishta, say, "Peace be to all creatures and the universe!" First
send impulses of these good wishes to the north, south, east,
west, above, below - in all directions, and then sit down to
meditate. One has to do this during the early stages. Then sitting
still (you may face in any direction), meditate in the way I have
taught you while initiating. Don't leave out a single day. If you
have too much pressing work, go through the spiritual exercises
for at least a quarter of an hour. Can you reach the goal without
steadfast devotion, my son?
Now Swamiji went upstairs, and as he did so, he said, "You people
will have your spiritual insight opened without much trouble. Now
that you have chanced to come here, you have liberation and all
under your thumb. Besides practising meditation, etc., set
yourselves heart and soul to remove to a certain extent the
miseries of the world, so full of wails. Through hard austerities
I have almost ruined this body. There is hardly any energy left in
this pack of bones and flesh. You set yourselves to work now, and
let me rest a while. If you fail to do anything else, well, you
can tell the world at large about the scriptural truths you have
studied so long. There is no higher gift than this, for the gift
of knowledge is the highest gift in the world."
XXVII
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: The Math, Belur. Year: 1902.]
Swamiji was now staying at the Math. The disciple came to the Math
and towards the evening accompanied Swamiji and Swami Premananda
for a walk. Finding Swamiji absorbed in thought, the disciple
entered into a conversation with Swami Premananda on what Shri
Ramakrishna used to say of Swamiji's greatness. After walking some
distance Swamiji turned to go back to the Math. Seeing Swami
Premananda and the disciple near by, he said, "Well, what were you
talking?" The disciple said, "We were talking about Shri
Ramakrishna and his words." Swamiji only heard the reply, but
again lapsed into thought and walking along the road returned to
the Math. He sat on the camp-cot placed under the mango-tree and,
resting there some time, washed his face and then, pacing the
upper verandah, spoke to the disciple thus: "Why do you not set
about propagating Vedanta in your part of the country? There
Tântrikism prevails to a fearful extent. Rouse and agitate the
country with the lion-roar of Advaitavâda (monism). Then I shall
know you to be a Vedantist. First open a Sanskrit school there and
teach the Upanishads and the Brahma-Sutras. Teach the boys the
system of Brahmacharya. I have heard that in your country there is
much logic-chopping of the Nyâya school. What is there in it? Only
Vyâpti (pervasiveness) and Anumâna (inference) - on these subjects
the Pandits of the Nyaya school discuss for months! What does it
help towards the Knowledge of the Atman? Either in your village or
Nag Mahashaya's, open a Chatushpâthi (indigenous school) in which
the scriptures will be studied and also the life and teachings of
Shri Ramakrishna. In this way you will advance your own good as
well as the good of the people, and your fame will endure.
Disciple: Sir, I cherish no desire for name or fame. Only,
sometimes I feel to do as you are saying. But by marriage I have
got so entangled in the world that I fear my desire will always
remain in the mind only.
Swamiji: What if you have married? As you are maintaining your
parents and brothers with food and clothing, so do for your wife
likewise; and by giving her religious instruction draw her to your
path. Think her to be a partner and helper in the living of your
religious life. At other times look upon her with an even eye with
others. Thinking thus all the unsteadiness of the mind will die
out. What fear?
The disciple felt assured by these words. After his meal, Swamiji
sat on his own bed, and the disciple had an opportunity of doing
some personal service for him.
Swamiji began to speak to the disciple, enjoining him to be
reverential to the Math members: "These children of Shri
Ramakrishna whom you see, are wonderful Tyâgis (selfless souls),
and by service to them you will attain to the purification of mind
and be blessed with the vision of the Atman. You remember the
words of the Gita: 'By interrogation and service to the great
soul'. Therefore you must serve them, by which you will attain
your goal; and you know how much they love you."
Disciple: But I find it very difficult to understand them. Each
one seems to be of a different type.
Swamiji: Shri Ramakrishna was a wonderful gardener. Therefore he
has made a bouquet of different flowers and formed his Order. All
different types and ideas have come into it, and many more will
come. Shri Ramakrishna used to say, "Whoever has prayed to God
sincerely for one day, must come here." Know each of those who are
here to be of great spiritual power. Because they remain
shrivelled before me, do not think them to be ordinary souls. When
they will go out, they will be the cause of the awakening of
spirituality in people. Know them to be part of the spiritual body
of Shri Ramakrishna, who was the embodiment of infinite religious
ideas. I look upon them with that eye. See, for instance,
Brahmananda, who is here - even I have not the spirituality which
he has. Shri Ramakrishna looked upon him as his mind-born son; and
he lived and walked, ate and slept with him. He is the ornament of
our Math - our king. Similarly Premananda, Turiyananda,
Trigunatitananda, Akhandananda, Saradananda, Ramakrishnananda,
Subodhananda, and others; you may go round the world, but it is
doubtful if you will find men of such spirituality and faith in
God like them. They are each a centre of religious power, and in
time that power will manifest.
The disciple listened in wonder, and Swamiji said again: "But from
your part of the country, except Nag Mahashaya none came to Shri
Ramakrishna. A few others who saw Shri Ramakrishna could not
appreciate him." At the thought of Nag Mahashaya, Swamiji kept
silent for some time. It was only four or five months since he had
passed away. Swamiji had heard that on one occasion a spring of
Ganga water rose in the house of Nag Mahashaya, and recollecting
this he asked the disciple, "Well, how did that event take place?
Tell me about it."
Disciple: I only heard about it, but did not see it with my own
eyes. I heard that in a Mahâvâruni Yoga Nag Mahashaya started with
his father for Calcutta. But not getting any accommodation in the
railway train he stayed for three or four days in Narayangunge in
vain and returned home. Then Nag Mahashaya said to his father, "If
the mind is pure, then the Mother Ganga will appear here." Then at
the auspicious hour of the holy bath, a jet of water rose,
piercing the ground of his courtyard. Many of those who saw it are
living today. But that was many years before I met him.
Swamiji: There was nothing strange in it. He was a saint of
unfalsified determination. I do not consider such a phenomenon at
all strange in his case.
Saying this, Swamiji, feeling sleepy, lay on his side. At this the
disciple came down to take his supper.
XXVIII
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: From Calcutta to the Math on a boat. Year: 1902.]
While walking on the banks of the Ganga at Calcutta one afternoon,
the disciple saw a Sannyasin in the distance approaching towards
Ahiritola Ghat. While he came near, the disciple found the
Sannyasin to be no other than his Guru, Swami Vivekananda. In his
left hand he had a leaf receptacle containing fried gram, which he
was eating like a boy, and was walking in great joy. When he stood
before him, the disciple fell at his feet and asked the reason for
his coming to Calcutta unexpectedly.
Swamiji: I came on business. Come, will you go to the Math? Eat a
little of the fried gram. It has a nice saline and pungent taste.
The disciple took the food with gladness and agreed to go to the
Math with him.
Swamiji: Then look for a boat.
The disciple hurried to hire a boat. He was settling the amount of
the boat-hire with the boatman, who demanded eight annas, when
Swamiji also appeared on the scene and stopped the disciple
saying, "Why are you higgling with them?" and said to the boatman,
"Very well, I will give you eight annas", and got into the boat.
That boat proceeded slowly against the current and took nearly an
hour and half to reach the Math. Being alone with Swamiji in the
boat, the disciple had an opportunity of asking him freely about
all subjects. Raising the topic of the glorificatory poem which
the disciple had recently composed singing the greatness of the
devotees of Shri Ramakrishna, Swamiji asked him, "How do you know
that those whom you have named in your hymn are the near and
intimate disciples of Shri Ramakrishna?"
Disciple: Sir, I have associated with the Sannyasin and
householder disciples of Shri Ramakrishna for so many years; I
have heard from them that they are all devotees of Shri
Ramakrishna.
Swamiji: Yes, they are devotees of Shri Ramakrishna. But all
devotees do not belong to the group of his most intimate and
nearest disciples. Staying in the Cossipore Garden, Shri
Ramakrishna said to us, "The Divine Mother showed me that all of
these are not my inner devotees." Shri Ramakrishna said so that
day with respect to both his men and women devotees.
Then speaking of the way Shri Ramakrishna would indicate different
grades among devotees, high and low, Swamiji began to explain to
the disciple at length the great difference there is between the
householder's and the Sannyasin's life.
Swamiji: Is it possible that one would serve the path of lust and
wealth and understand Shri Ramakrishna aright at the same time? Or
will it ever be possible? Never put your faith in such words. Many
among the devotees of Shri Ramakrishna are now proclaiming
themselves as Ishvara-koti (of Divine class), Antaranga (of inner
circle), etc. They could not imbibe his great renunciation or
dispassion, yet they say they are his intimate devotees! Sweep
away all such words. He was a prince of Tyagis (self-renouncers),
and obtaining his grace can anybody spend his life in the
enjoyment of lust and wealth?
Disciple: Is it then, sir, that those who came to him at
Dakshineswar were not his devotees?
Swamiji: Who says that? Everybody who has gone to Shri Ramakrishna
has advanced in spirituality, is advancing, and will advance. Shri
Ramakrishna used to say that the perfected Rishis of a previous
Kalpa (cycle) take human bodies and come on earth with the
Avataras. They are the associates of the Lord. God works through
them and propagates His religion. Know this for a truth that they
alone are the associates of the Avatara who have renounced all
self for the sake of others, who, giving up all sense-enjoyments
with repugnance, spend their lives for the good of the world, for
the welfare of the Jivas. The disciples of Jesus were all
Sannyasins. The direct recipients of the grace of Shankara,
Ramanuja, Shri Chaitanya and Buddha were the all-renouncing
Sannyasins. It is men of this stamp who have been through
succession of disciples spreading the Brahma-vidyâ (knowledge of
Brahman) in the world. Where and when have you heard that a man
being the slave of lust and wealth has been able to liberate
another or to show the path of God to him? Without himself free,
how can he make others free? In Veda, Vedanta, Itihâsa (history),
Purâna (ancient tradition), you will find everywhere that the
Sannyasins have been the teachers of religion in all ages and
climes. History repeats itself. It will also be likewise now. The
capable Sannyasin children of Shri Ramakrishna, the teacher of the
great synthesis of religions, will be honoured everywhere as the
teachers of men. The words of others will dissipate in the air
like an empty sound. The real self-sacrificing Sannyasins of the
Math will be the centre of the preservation and spread of
religious ideas. Do you understand?
Disciple: Then is it not true - what the householder devotees of
Shri Ramakrishna are preaching about him in diverse ways?
Swamiji: It can't be said that they are altogether false; but what
they are saying about Shri Ramakrishna is only partial truth.
According to one's own capacity, one has understood Shri
Ramakrishna and so is discussing about him. It is not bad either
to do so. But if any of his devotees has concluded that what he
has understood of him is the only truth, then he is an object of
pity. Some are saying that Shri Ramakrishna was a Tantrika and
Kaula, some that he was Shri Chaitanya born on earth to preach
"Nâradiya Bhakti" (Bhakti as taught by Nâradâ); some again that to
undertake spiritual practices is opposed to faith in him as an
Avatara while some are opining that it is not agreeable to his
teachings to take to Sannyasa. You will hear such words from the
householder devotees, but do not listen to such one-sided
estimates. He was the concentrated embodiment of how many previous
Avataras! Even spending the whole life in religious austerity, we
could not understand it. Therefore one has to speak about him with
caution and restraint. As are one's capacities, so he fills one
with spiritual ideas. One spray from the full ocean of his
spirituality, if realised, will make gods of men. Such a synthesis
of universal ideas you will not find in the history of the world
again. Understand from this who was born in the person of Shri
Ramakrishna. When he used to instruct his Sannyasin disciples, he
would rise from his seat and look about to see if any householder
was coming that way or not. If he found none, then in glowing
words he would depict the glory of renunciation and austerity. As
a result of the rousing power of that fiery dispassion, we have
renounced the world and become averse to worldliness.
Disciple: He used to make such distinctions between householders
and Sannyasins!
Swamiji: Ask and learn from the householder devotees themselves
about it. And you yourself can think and know which are greater -
those of his children who for the realisation of God have
renounced all enjoyments of the worldly life and are spending
themselves in the practice of austerities on hills and forests,
Tirthas and Ashramas (holy places and hermitages), or those who
are praising and glorifying his name and practising his
remembrance, but are not able to rise above the delusion and
bondage of the world? Which are greater - those who are coming
forward in the service of humanity, regarding them as the Atman,
those who are continent since early age, who are the moving
embodiments of renunciation and dispassion, or those who like
flies are at one time sitting on a flower, and at the next moment
on a dung heap? You can yourself think and come to a conclusion.
Disciple: But, sir, what does the world really mean to those who
have obtained his grace? Whether they remain in the householder's
life or take to Sannyasa, it is immaterial - so it appears to me.
Swamiji: The mind of those who have truly received his grace
cannot be attached to worldliness. The test of his grace
is-unattachment to lust or wealth. If that has not come in
anyone's life, then he has not truly received his grace.
When the above discussion ended thus, the disciple raising another
topic, asked Swamiji, "Sir, what is the outcome of all your
labours here and in foreign countries?"
Swamiji: You will see only a little manifestation of what has been
done. In time the whole world must accept the universal and
catholic ideas of Shri Ramakrishna and of this, only the beginning
has been made. Before this flood everybody will be swept off.
Disciple: Please tell me more about Shri Ramakrishna. I like very
much to hear of him from your lips.
Swamiji: You are hearing so much about him all the time, what
more? He himself is his own parallel. Has he any exemplar?
Disciple: What is the way for us who have not seen him?
Swamiji: You have been blessed with the company of these Sadhus
who are the direct recipients of his grace. How then can you say
you have not seen him? He is present among his Sannyasin
disciples. By service to them, he will in time be revealed in your
heart. In time you will realise everything.
Disciple: But, sir, you speak about others who have received his
grace, but never about what he used to say about yourself.
Swamiji: What shall I say about myself? You see, I must be one of
his demons. In his presence even, I would sometimes speak ill of
him, hearing which he would laugh.
Saying thus Swamiji's face assumed a grave aspect, and he looked
towards the river with an absent mind and sat still for some time.
Within a short time the evening fell and the boat also reached the
Math. Swamiji was then humming a tune to himself, "Now in the
evening of life, take the child back to his home."
When the song was finished, Swamiji said, "In your part of the
country (East Bengal) sweet-voiced singers are not born. Without
drinking the water of mother Ganga, a sweet, musical voice is not
acquired."
After paying the hire, Swamiji descended from the boat and taking
off his coat sat in the western verandah of the Math. His fair
complexion and ochre robe presented a beautiful sight.
XXIX
(Translated from Bengali)
[Place: Belur Math. Year: 1902.]
Today is the first of Âshârh (June-July). The disciple has come to
the Math before dusk from Bally, with his office-dress on, as he
has not found time to change it. Coming to the Math, he prostrated
himself at the feet of Swamiji and inquired about his health.
Swamiji replied that he was well, but looking at his dress, he
said, "You put on coat and trousers, why don't you put on
collars?" Saying this, he called Swami Saradananda who was near
and said, "Give him tomorrow two collars from my stock." Swami
Saradananda bowed assent to his order.
The disciple then changed his office-dress and came to Swamiji,
who, addressing him, said, "By giving up one's national costume
and ways of eating and living, one gets denationalised. One can
learn from all, but that learning which leads to denationalisation
does not help one's uplift but becomes the cause of degradation."
Disciple: Sir, one cannot do without putting on dress approved by
superior European officers in official quarters.
Swamiji: No one prevents that. In the interests of your service,
you put on official dress in official quarters. But on returning
home you should be a regular Bengali Babu - with flowing cloth, a
native shirt, and with the Chudder on the shoulder. Do you
understand?
Disciple: Yes, sir.
Swamiji: You go about from house to house only with the European
shirt on. In the West, to go about visiting people with simply the
shirt on is ungentlemanly - one is considered naked. Without
putting on a coat over the shirt, you will not be welcomed in a
gentleman's house. What nonsense have you learnt to imitate in the
matter of dress! Boys and young men nowadays adopt a peculiar
manner of dress which is neither Indian nor Western, but a queer
combination.
After such talk Swamiji began to pace the bank of the river, and
the disciple was alone with him. He was hesitating to ask Swamiji
a question about religious practices.
Swamiji: What are you thinking? Out with it.
The disciple with great delicacy said, "Sir, I have been thinking
that if you can teach me some method by which the mind becomes
calm within a short time, by which I may be immersed in meditation
quickly, I shall feel much benefited. In the round of worldly
duties, I feel it difficult to make the mind steady in meditation
at the time of spiritual practice."
Swamiji seemed delighted at this humility and earnestness of the
disciple. In reply he affectionately said, "After some time come
to me when I am alone upstairs, I will talk to you about it."
Coming up shortly after, the disciple found that Swamiji was
sitting in meditation, facing the west. His face wore a wonderful
expression, and his whole body was completely motionless. The
disciple stood by, looking with speechless wonder on the figure of
Swamiji in meditation, and when even after standing long he found
no sign of external consciousness in Swamiji, he sat noiselessly
by. After half an hour, Swamiji seemed to show signs of a return
to external consciousness. The disciple found that his folded
hands began to quiver, and a few minutes later Swamiji opened his
eyes and looking at the disciple said, "When did you come?"
Disciple: A short while ago.
Swamiji: Very well, get me a glass of water.
The disciple hurriedly brought a glass of water and Swamiji
drinking a little, asked the disciple to put the glass back in its
proper place. The disciple did so and again sat by Swamiji.
Swamiji: Today I had a very deep meditation.
Disciple: Sir, please teach me so that my mind also may get
absorbed in meditation.
Swamiji: I have already told you all the methods. Meditate every
day accordingly, and in the fulness of time you will feel like
that. Now tell me what form of Sadhana appeals to you most.
Disciple: Sir, I practice every day as you have told me, still I
don't get a deep meditation. Sometimes I think it is useless for
me to practise meditation. So I feel that I shall not fare well in
it, and therefore now desire only eternal companionship with you.
Swamiji: Those are weaknesses of the mind. Always try to get
absorbed in the eternally present Atman. If you once get the
vision of the Atman, you will get everything - the bonds of birth
and death will be broken.
Disciple: You bless me to attain to it. You asked me, still I
don't get a deep meditation. By some means, do please make my mind
steady.
Swamiji: Meditate whenever you get time. If the mind once enters
the path of Sushumna, everything will get right. You will not have
to do much after that.
Disciple: You encourage me in many ways. But shall I be blessed
with a vision of the Truth? Shall I get freedom by attaining true
knowledge?
Swamiji: Yes, of course. Everybody will attain Mukti, from a worm
up to Brahmâ, and shall you alone fail? These are weaknesses of
the mind; never think of such things.
After this, he said again: "Be possessed of Shraddhâ (faith), of
Virya (courage), attain to the knowledge of the Atman, and
sacrifice your life for the good of others - this is my wish and
blessing."
The bell for the meal ringing at this moment, Swamiji asked the
disciple to go and partake of it. The disciple, prostrating
himself at the feet of Swamiji, prayed for his blessings. Swamiji
putting his hand on his head blessed him and said, "If my
blessings be of any good to you, I say - may Bhagavân Shri
Ramakrishna give you his grace! I know of no blessing higher than
this." After meals, the disciple did not go upstairs to Swamiji,
who had retired early that night. Next morning the disciple,
having to return to Calcutta in the interests of his business
appeared before Swamiji upstairs.
Swamiji: Will you go immediately?
Disciple: Yes, sir.
Swamiji: Come again next Sunday, won't you?
Disciple: Yes, certainly.
Swamiji: All right, there is a boat coming.
The disciple took leave of Swamiji. He did not know that this was
to be his last meeting with his Ishtadeva (chosen Ideal) in the
physical body. Swamiji with a glad heart bade him farewell and
said, "Come on Sunday." The disciple replied, "Yes, I will," and
got downstairs.
The boatmen were calling for him, so he ran for the boat. Boarding
it, he saw Swamiji pacing the upper verandah, and saluting him he
entered the boat.
Seven days after this, Swamiji passed away from mortal life. The
disciple had no knowledge of the impending catastrophe. Getting
the news on the second day of Swamiji's passing away, he came to
the Math, and therefore he had not the good fortune to see his
physical form again!
XXX
(Translated from Bengali)
[Shri Priya Nath Sinha]
We evince a sad lack of restraint in conversation or any conjoint
action such as music and so on. Everyone tries to put himself
foremost. The jostling at railway or steamer station is another
illustration of his. A friend of Swamiji had a talk with him one
day at the Math on this subject. Swamiji remarked, "You see, we
have an old adage: 'If your son is not inclined to study, put him
in the Durbars (Sâbha).' The word Sabha here does not mean social
meetings, such as take place occasionally at people's houses - it
means royal Durbars. In the days of the independent kings of
Bengal, they used to hold their courts mornings and evenings.
There all the affairs of the State were discussed in the morning -
and as there were no newspapers at that time, the king used to
converse with the leading gentry of the capital and gather from
them all information regarding the people and the State. These
gentlemen had to attend these meetings, for if they did not do so,
the king would inquire into the reason of their non-attendance.
Such Durbars were the centres of culture in every country and not
merely in ours. In the present day, the western parts of India,
especially Rajputana, are much better off in this respect than
Bengal, as something similar to these old Durbars still obtains
there."
Q. - Then, Maharaj, have our people lost their own good manners
because we have no kings of our own?
Swamiji: It is all a degeneration which has its root in
selfishness. That in boarding a steamer one follows the vulgar
maxim, "Uncle, save thy own precious skin", and in music and
moments of recreation everyone tries to make a display of himself,
is a typical picture of our mental state. Only a little training
in self-sacrifice would take it away. It is the fault of the
parents who do not teach their children good manners.
Self-sacrifice, indeed, is the basis of all civilisation.
On the other hand, owing to the undue domination exercised by the
parents, our boys do not get free scope for growth. The parents
consider singing as improper. But the son, when he hears a fine
piece of music, at once sets his whole mind on how to learn it,
and naturally he must look out for an Âddâ. (Something like a
club. The word has got a bad odour about it in Bengali.) Then
again, "It is a sin to smoke!" So what else can the young man do
than mix with the servants of the house, to indulge in this habit
in secret? In everyone there are infinite tendencies, which
require proper scope for satisfaction. But in our country that is
not allowed; and to bring about a different order of things would
require a fresh training of the parents. Such is the condition!
What a pity! We have not yet developed a high grade of
civilisation; and in spite of this, our educated Babus want the
British to hand over the government to them to manage! It makes me
laugh and cry as well. Well, where is that martial spirit which,
at the very outset, requires one to know how to serve and obey and
to practise self-restraint! The martial spirit is not
self-assertion but self-sacrifice. One must be ready to advance
and lay down one's life at the word of command, before he can
command the hearts and lives of others. One must sacrifice himself
first.
A devotee of Shri Ramakrishna once passed some severe remarks, in
a book written by him, against those who did not believe in Shri
Ramakrishna as an Incarnation of God. Swamiji summoned the writer
to his presence and addressed him thus in a spirited manner:
What right had you to write like that, abusing others? What
matters it if they do not believe in your Lord? Have we created a
sect? Are we Ramakrishnites, that we should look upon anyone who
will not worship him, as our enemy? By your bigotry you have only
lowered him, and made him small. If your Lord is God Himself, then
you ought to know that in whatsoever name one is calling upon him,
it is his worship only - and who are you to abuse others? Do you
think they will hear you if you inveigh against them? How foolish!
You can only win others' hearts when you have sacrificed yourself
to them, otherwise why should they hear you?
Regaining his natural composure after a short while, Swamiji spoke
in a sorrowful tone:
Can anyone, my dear friend, have faith or resignation in the Lord,
unless he himself is a hero? Never can hatred and malice vanish
from one's heart unless one becomes a hero, and unless one is free
from these, how can one become truly civilised? Where in this
country is that sturdy manliness, that spirit of heroism? Alas,
nowhere. Often have I looked for that, and I found only one
instance of it, and only one.
Q. - In whom have you found it, Swamiji?
Swamiji: In G. C. (Babu Girish Chandra Ghosh.) alone I have seen
that true resignation - that true spirit of a servant of the Lord.
And was it not because he was ever ready to sacrifice himself that
Shri Ramakrishna took upon himself all his responsibility? What a
unique spirit of resignation to the Lord! I have not met his
parallel. From him have I learnt the lesson of self-surrender.
So saying, Swamiji raised his folded hands to his head out of
respect to him.
XXXI
(Translated from Bengali [Shri Priya Nath Sinha]
Arrangements were being made for Swamiji's leaving India for
America for the second time (1899 A.D.). He had gone to Calcutta
to see one of his friends, and returning from there stopped for a
few minutes at Balaram Babu's house at Baghbazar. He then sent for
another friend to accompany him to the Math. The friend came, and
the following conversation took place between him and Swamiji:
Swamiji: A very funny thing happened today. I went to a friend's
house. He has had a picture painted, the subject of which is "Shri
Krishna addressing Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra". Shri
Krishna stands on the chariot, holding the reins in His hand and
preaching the Gita to Arjuna. He showed me the picture and asked
me how I liked it. "Fairly well", I said. But as he insisted on
having my criticism on it, I had to give my honest opinion by
saying, "There is nothing in it to commend itself to me; first,
because the chariot of the time of Shri Krishna was not like the
modern pagoda-shaped car, and also, there is no expression in the
figure of Shri Krishna."
Q. - Was not the pagoda-chariot in use then?
Swamiji: Don't you know that since the Buddhistic era, there has
been a great confusion in everything in our country? The kings
never used to fight in pagoda-chariots. There are chariots even
today in Rajputana that greatly resemble the chariots of old. Have
you seen the chariots in the pictures of Grecian mythology? They
have two wheels, and one mounts them from behind; we had that sort
of chariot. What good is it to paint a picture if the details are
wrong? An historical picture comes up to a standard of excellence
when after making proper study and research, things are portrayed
exactly as they were at that period. The truth must be
represented, otherwise the picture is nothing. In these days, our
young men who go in for painting are generally those who were
unsuccessful at school, and who have been given up at home as
good-for-nothing; what work of art can you expect from them? To
paint a really good picture requires as much talent as to produce
a perfect drama.
Q. - How then should Shri Krishna be represented in the picture in
question?
Swamiji: Shri Krishna ought to be painted as He really was, the
Gita personified; and the central idea of the Gita should radiate
from His whole form as He was teaching the path of Dharma to
Arjuna, who had been overcome by infatuation and cowardice.
So saying Swamiji posed himself in the way in which Shri Krishna
should be portrayed, and continued: "Look here, thus does he hold
the bridle of the horses - so tight that they are brought to their
haunches, with their forelegs fighting the air, and their mouths
gaping. This will show a tremendous play of action in the figure
of Shri Krishna. His friend, the world-renowned hero, casting
aside his bow and arrows, has sunk down like a coward on the
chariot, in the midst of the two armies. And Shri Krishna, whip in
one hand and tightening the reins with the other, has turned
Himself towards Arjuna, with his childlike face beaming with
unworldly love and sympathy, and a calm and serene look - and is
delivering the message of the Gita to his beloved comrade. Now,
tell me what idea this picture of the Preacher of the Gita conveys
to you."
The friend: Activity combined with firmness and serenity.
Swamiji: Ay, that's it! Intense action in the whole body, and
withal a face expressing the profound calmness and serenity of the
blue sky. This is the central idea of the Gita - to be calm and
steadfast in all circumstances, with one's body, mind, and soul
centred at His hallowed Feet!
कर्मण्यकर्म य: पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः।
स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्त: कृत्स्नकर्मकृत्॥ (Gita IV.18).
He who even while doing action can keep his mind calm, and in
whom, even when not doing any outward action, flows the current of
activity in the form of the contemplation of Brahman, is the
intelligent one among men, he indeed is the Yogi, he indeed is the
perfect worker.
At this moment, the man who had been sent to arrange a boat
returned and said that it was ready; so Swamiji told his friend,
"Now let us go to the Math. You must have left word at home that
you were going there with me?"
They continued their talk as they walked to the boat.
Swamiji: This idea must be preached to everyone - work, work,
endless work - without looking at results, and always keeping the
whole mind and soul steadfast at the lotus feet of the Lord!
Q. - But is this not Karma-Yoga?
Swamiji: Yes, this is Karma-Yoga; but without spiritual practices
you will never be able to do this Karma-Yoga. You must harmonise
the four different Yogas; otherwise how can you always keep your
mind and heart wholly on the Lord?
Q. - It is generally said that work according to the Gita means
the performance of Vedic sacrifices and religious exercises; any
other kind of work is futile.
Swamiji: All right; but you must make it more comprehensive. Who
is responsible for every action you do, every breath you take, and
every thought you think? Isn't it you yourself?
The friend: Yes and no. I cannot solve this clearly. The truth
about it is that man is the instrument and the Lord is the agent.
So when I am directed by His will, I am not at all responsible for
my actions.
Swamiji: Well, that can be said only in the highest state of
realisation. When the mind will be purified by work and you will
see that it is He who is causing all to work, then only you will
have a right to speak like that. Otherwise it is all bosh, a mere
cant.
Q. - Why so, if one is truly convinced by reasoning that the Lord
alone is causing all actions to be done?
Swamiji: It may hold good when one has been so convinced. But it
only lasts for that moment, and not a whit afterwards. Well,
consider this thoroughly, whether all that you do in your everyday
life, you are not doing with an egoistic idea that you yourself
are the agent. How long do you remember that it is the Lord who is
making you work? But then, by repeatedly analysing like that, you
will come to a state when the ego will vanish and in its place the
Lord will come in. Then you will be able to say with justice
"Thou, Lord, art guarding all my actions from within." But, my
friend, if the ego occupies all the space within your heart, where
forsooth will there be room enough for the Lord to come in? The
Lord is verily absent!
Q. - But it is He who is giving me the wicked impulse?
Swamiji: No, by no means. It would be blaspheming the Lord to
think in that way. He is not inciting you to evil action, it is
all the creation of your desire for self-gratification. If one
says the Lord is causing everything to be done, and wilfully
persists in wrong-doing, it only brings ruin on him. That is the
origin of self-deception. Don't you feel an elation after you have
done a good deed? You then give yourself the credit of doing
something good - you can't help it, it is very human. But how
absurd to take the credit of doing the good act on oneself and lay
the blame for the evil act on the Lord! It is a most dangerous
idea - the effect of ill-digested Gita and Vedanta. Never hold
that view. Rather say that He is causing the good work to be done
while you are responsible for the evil action. That will bring on
devotion and faith, and you will see His grace manifested at every
step. The truth about it is that no one has created you - you have
created yourself. This is discrimination, this is Vedanta. But one
does not understand it before realisation. Therefore the aspirant
should begin with the dualistic standpoint, that the Lord is
causing the good actions, while he is doing the evil. This is the
easiest way to the purification of the mind. Hence you find
dualism so strong among the Vaishnavas. It is very difficult to
entertain Advaitic (non-dualistic) ideas at the outset. But the
dualistic standpoint gradually leads to the realisation of the
Advaita.
Hypocrisy is always a dangerous thing. If there is no wilful
self-deception, that is to say, if one sincerely believes that the
most wicked impulse is also prompted by the Lord, rest assured
that one will not have to do those mean acts for long. All the
impurities of the mind are quickly destroyed. Our ancient
scriptural writers understood this well. And I think that the
Tantrika form of worship originated from the time that Buddhism
began to decline and, through the oppression of the Buddhists,
people began to perform their Vedic sacrifices in secret. They had
no more opportunity to conduct them for two months at a stretch,
so they made clay images, worshipped them, and consigned them to
the water - finishing everything in one night, without leaving the
least trace! Man longs for a concrete symbol, otherwise his heart
is not satisfied. So in every home that one-night sacrifice began
to take place. As Shri Ramakrishna used to say, "Some enter the
house by the scavenger's entrance", so the spiritual teachers of
that time saw that those who could not perform any religious rite
owing to their evil propensities, also needed some way of coming
round by degrees to the path of virtue. For them those queer
Tantrika rites came to be invented.
Q. - They went on doing evil actions thinking them to be good. So
how could this remove their evil tendencies?
Swamiji: Why, they gave a different direction to their
propensities; they did them, but with the object of realising the
Lord.
Q. - Can this really be done?
Swamiji: It comes to the same thing. The motive must be right. And
what should prevent them from succeeding?
Q. - But many are caught in the temptation for wine, meat, etc. in
trying to get along with such means.
Swamiji: It was therefore that Shri Ramakrishna came. The days of
practising the Tantra in that fashion are gone. He, too, practised
the Tantra, but not in that way. Where there is the injunction of
drinking wine, he would simply touch his forehead with a drop of
it. The Tantrika form of worship is a very slippery ground. Hence
I say that this province has had enough of the Tantra. Now it must
go beyond. The Vedas should be studied. A harmony of the four
kinds of Yogas must be practised and absolute chastity must be
preserved.
Q. - What do you mean by the harmony of the four Yogas?
Swamiji: Discrimination between the real and the unreal,
dispassion and devotion, work and practices in concentration, and
along with these there must be a reverential attitude towards
women.
Q. - How can one look with reverence on women?
Swamiji: Well, they are the representatives of the Divine Mother.
And real well-being of India will commence from the day that the
worship of the Divine Mother will truly begin, and every man will
sacrifice himself at the altar of the Mother. . . .
Q. - Swamiji, in your boyhood, when we asked you to marry, you
would reply, "I won't, but you will see what I shall become." You
have actually verified your words.
Swamiji: Yes, dear brother, you saw how I was in want of food, and
had to work hard besides. Oh, the tremendous labour! Today the
Americans out of love have given me this nice bed, and I have
something to eat also. But, also, I have not been destined to
enjoy physically - and lying on the mattress only aggravates my
illness. I feel suffocated, as it were. I have to come down and
lie on the floor for relief!
XXXII
VENGEANCE OF HISTORY
(Mrs. Wright)
[At the end of August 1893, Swami Vivekananda stayed at Annisquam
at the house of Prof. J. H. Wright. So astonishing a sight did
Swamiji present in this quiet little New England village that
speculations set in at once as to who this majestic and colourful
figure might be. From where had he come? At first they decided
that he was a Brahmin from India, but his manners did not fully
conform to their ideas.] It was something that needed explanation
and they unanimously repaired to the cottage after supper, to hear
this strange new discourse. . . .
"It was the other day," he said, in his musical voice, "only just
the other day - not more than four hundred years ago." And then
followed tales of cruelty and oppression, of a patient race and a
suffering people, and of a judgment to come! "Ah, the English!" he
said. "Only just a little while ago they were savages, the vermin
crawled on the ladies' bodies . . . and they scented themselves to
disguise the abominable odour of their persons. . . . Most
hor-r-ible! Even now they are barely emerging from barbarism."
"Nonsense," said one of his scandalised hearers, "that was at
least five hundred years ago."
"And did I not say 'a little while ago'? What are a few hundred
years when you look at the antiquity of the human soul?" Then with
a turn of tone, quite reasonable and gentle, "They are quite
savage", he said. "The frightful cold, the want and privation of
their northern climate", going on more quickly and warmly, "has
made them wild. They only think to kill. . . . Where is their
religion? They take the name of that Holy One, they claim to love
their fellowmen, they civilise - by Christianity! - No! It is
their hunger that has civilised them, not their God. The love of
man is on their lips, in their hearts there is nothing but evil
and every violence. 'I love you my brother, I love you!' . . . and
all the while they cut his throat! Their hands are red with
blood." . . . Then, going on more slowly, his beautiful voice
deepening till it sounded like a bell, "But the judgment of God
will fall upon them. 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the
Lord', and destruction is coming. What are your Christians? Not
one third of the world. Look at those Chinese, millions of them.
They are the vengeance of God that will light upon you. There will
be another invasion of the Huns", adding, with a little chuckle,
"they will sweep over Europe, they will not leave one stone
standing upon another. Men, women, children, all will go and the
dark ages will come again." His voice was indescribably sad and
pitiful; then suddenly and flippantly, dropping the seer, "Me - I
don't care! The world will rise up better from it, but it is
coming. The vengeance of God, it is coming soon."
"Soon?" they all asked.
"It will not be a thousand years before it is done."
They drew a breath of relief. It did not seem imminent.
"And God will have vengeance", he went on. "You may not see it in
religion, you may not see it in politics, but you must see it in
history, and as it has been; it will come to pass. If you grind
down the people, you will suffer. We in India are suffering the
vengeance of God. Look upon these things. They ground down those
poor people for their own wealth, they heard not the voice of
distress, they ate from gold and silver when the people cried for
bread, and the Mohammedans came upon them slaughtering and
killing: slaughtering and killing they overran them. India has
been conquered again and again for years, and last and worst of
all came the Englishman. You look about India, what has the Hindu
left? Wonderful temples, everywhere. What has the Mohammedan left?
Beautiful palaces. What has the Englishman left? Nothing but
mounds of broken brandy bottles! And God has had no mercy upon my
people because they had no mercy. By their cruelty they degraded
the populace; and when they needed them, the common people had no
strength to give for their aid. If man cannot believe in the
Vengeance of God, he certainly cannot deny the Vengeance of
History. And it will come upon the English; they have their heels
on our necks, they have sucked the last drop of our blood for
their own pleasures, they have carried away with them millions of
our money, while our people have starved by villages and
provinces. And now the Chinaman is the vengeance that will fall
upon them; if the Chinese rose today and swept the English into
the sea, as they well deserve, it would be no more than justice."
And then, having said his say, the Swami was silent. A babble of
thin-voiced chatter rose about him, to which he listened,
apparently unheeding. Occasionally he cast his eye up to the roof
and repeated softly, "Shiva! Shiva!" and the little company,
shaken and disturbed by the current of powerful feelings and
vindictive passion which seemed to be flowing like molten lava
beneath the silent surface of this strange being, broke up,
perturbed.
He stayed days [actually it was only a long weekend]. . . . All
through, his discourses abounded in picturesque illustrations and
beautiful legends. . . .
One beautiful story he told was of a man whose wife reproached him
with his troubles, reviled him because of the success of others,
and recounted to him all his failures. "Is this what your God has
done for you", she said to him, "after you have served Him so many
years?" Then the man answered, "Am I a trader in religion? Look at
the mountain. What does it do for me, or what have I done for it?
And yet I love it because I am so made that I love the beautiful.
Thus I love God." . . . There was another story he told of a king
who offered a gift to a Rishi. The Rishi refused, but the king
insisted and begged that he would come with him. When they came to
the palace, he heard the king praying, and the king begged for
wealth, for power, for length of days from God. The Rishi
listened, wondering, until at last he picked up his mat and
started away. Then the king opened his eyes from his prayers and
saw him. "Why are you going?" he said. "You have not asked for
your gift." "I", said the Rishi, "ask from a beggar?"
When someone suggested to him that Christianity was a saving
power, he opened his great dark eyes upon him and said, "If
Christianity is a saving power in itself, why has it not saved the
Ethiopians, the Abyssinians?"
Often on Swamiji's lips was the phrase, "They would not dare to do
this to a monk." . . . At times he even expressed a great longing
that the English government would take him and shoot him. "It
would be the first nail in their coffin", he would say, with a
little gleam of his white teeth. "and my death would run through
the land like wild fire."
His great heroine was the dreadful [?] Ranee of the Indian mutiny,
who led her troops in person. Most of the old mutineers, he said,
had become monks in order to hide themselves, and this accounted
very well for the dangerous quality of the monks' opinions. There
was one man of them who had lost four sons and could speak of them
with composure, but whenever he mentioned the Ranee, he would
weep, with tears streaming down his face. "That woman was a
goddess", he said, "a devi. When overcome, she fell on her sword
and died like a man." It was strange to hear the other side of the
Indian mutiny, when you would never believe that there was another
side to it, and to be assured that a Hindu could not possibly kill
a woman. . . .