Sri Rama Krishna Paramahamsa

Extract from Gospel of Ramakrishna (Parama Hamsa)

Master about himself

"Therefore I feel that it is the Divine Mother Herself who dwells in this body and plays with the devotees. When I first had my exalted state of mind, my body would radiate light. My chest was always flushed. Then I said to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, do not reveal Thyself outwardly. Please go inside.' That is why my complexion is so dull now. If my body were still luminous, people would have tormented me; a crowd would always have thronged here. 

Now there is no outer manifestation. That keeps weeds away. Only genuine devotees will remain with me now. Do you know why I have this illness? It has the same significance. Those whose devotion to me has a selfish motive behind it will run away at the sight of my illness.

"I cherished a desire. I said to the Mother, 'O Mother, I shall be the king of the devotees.'

"Again, this thought arose in my mind: 'He who sincerely prays to God will certainly come here. He must.' You see, that is what is happening now. Only people of that kind come.

"My parents knew who dwells inside this body. Father had a dream at Gaya. In that dream Raghuvir said to him, 'I shall be born as your son.'

"God alone dwells inside this body. Such renunciation of 'woman and gold!' Could I have accomplished that myself? I have never enjoyed a woman, even in a dream.

Totapuri

"Nangta instructed me in Vedānta. In three days I went into samādhi. At the sight of my samādhi under the madhavi vine, he was quite taken aback and exclaimed, 'Ah! What is this?' Then he came to know who resides in this body. 

He said to me, 'Please let me go.' At these words of Totapuri, I went into an ecstatic mood and said, 'You cannot go till I realize the Truth of Vedānta.'

"Day and night I lived with him. We talked only Vedānta. The Brahmani used to say to me: 

'Don't listen to Vedānta. It will injure your devotion to God.'

Mathur Babu

"I said to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, please get me a rich man. If You don't, how shall I be able to protect this body? How shall I be able to keep the sādhus and devotees near me?' That is why Mathur Babu provided for my needs for fourteen years.

"He who dwells in me tells me beforehand what particular class of devotees will come to me. When I have a vision of Gaurānga, I know that devotees of Gaurānga are coming. When I have a vision of Ran, the Saktas come. 

"At the time of the evening service I used to cry out from the roof of the kuthi, weeping: 'Oh, where are you all? Come to me!' You see, they are all gathering here, one by one.

"God Himself dwells in this body. It is He who, of His own accord, is working with these devotees.

"What a wonderful state of mind some of the devotees have! The younger Naren gets kumbhaka without any effort, and samādhi too. Sometimes he stays in an ecstatic mood for two and a half hours; sometimes even more. How wonderful!

"I have practised all kinds of sādhanā: Jnāna yoga, karma yoga, and bhakti yoga. I have even gone through the exercises of hathayoga to increase longevity. There is another Person dwelling in this body. Otherwise, after attaining samādhi, how could I live with the devotees and enjoy the love of God? Koar Singh used to say to me: 'I have never before seen a person who has returned from the plane of samādhi. You are none other than Nanak.'

"I live in the midst of worldly people; on all sides I see 'woman and gold'. Nevertheless, this is the state of my mind: unceasing samādhi and bhava. That is the reason Pratap said, at the sight of my ecstatic mood: 'Good heavens! It is as if he were possessed by a ghost!' "

(Rākhāl, M., and the others were speechless as they drank in this account of Sri Ramakrishna's unique experiences.)

Love.

Essence of Vedanta - Part 26

ANANTAM

A king who is the ruler of this whole world may imagine that he has simultaneous happiness of the entire kingdom of the earth. "The entire earth is mine," the king may feel. But the entire earth stands outside the king. The experiencing consciousness of the king does not hold under his grip or possession this vast earth that he considers as the means of his satisfaction. 

So the king's happiness is a futile, imaginary pleasure; really, he does not possess the world. The world stands outside. If the object of experience stands outside the experience, the experience cannot be regarded as complete. Unless the object of experience enters into you and becomes part and parcel of your own existence, you will not be able to enjoy that object. 

All objects cause anxiety in the mind because they stand outside the experiencing consciousness. Even if you have a heap of gold in the grip of your palm, it cannot cause you happiness. It will only cause anxieties of different types – such as how to keep it, how to use it, how to protect it, how not to lose it, and how to see that it is not leading you to bereavement. 

The possessor of gold and silver is filled with anxieties, and that person cannot sleep well. Even a king cannot sleep well because of the fear of attack from sources that are external to him. To be secure under conditions which are totally external to yourself is hard, indeed, to imagine.

However, 

Brahman experience (The experience which is indicated in all theme posts)  is not an object of contact; it is an identity. The object is the experiencing consciousness itself. The content of awareness becomes the awareness.

You are not merely existing, minus the consciousness of existence. There is all-existence, a simultaneous knowledge of all things – omniscience, a simultaneous taneous enjoyment of all things, and perfect freedom. It is perfect freedom because there is nothing to obstruct your freedom in that state. 

Here, in this world, whatever freedom you may have is limited by the existence of other things in this world. Your freedom is limited by the freedom of another person and, therefore, your freedom is limited to that extent. You cannot have unlimited freedom in this world. But That (Brahman) is unlimited freedom. It is unlimited because anantam brahma: "Infinite is Brahman.

Readers,

Are you finding these posts theoretical?? 

If so, it is because you are not connecting the posts on satyam and jnanam and anantam with the questions with which we started these posts on satyam , jnanam , anantam.

After all the previous posts and also the intro to upanishads, we summarized the ending part of all theme posts and asked ourselves, what would be the experience of the essence of all theme posts which have been learnt so far. 

For example, We asked ourselves, 

"What would be the pinnacle of our experience when, as per the essence of the theme " purpose of Human birth" which was the 1st theme in this blog, we retrace, we listen to our Lord's call, leave this glittering world and experience the million times more intoxicating God consciousness"

In this context, we have given these SATYAM, JNANAM, ANANTAM posts. 

Sincere readers may once again keep the above italicized question in mind and then do a revised reading of the Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam posts in the next 2 days.

The author will then try to  explain as to how the above question and the posts on the three - Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam get aligned and completed!!

Hari Aum Tatsat.

Ananda Mayi Ma

RELEVANCE OF SATSANGH

By listening repeatedly to discussions and discourses on topics of this kind, the path to first-hand knowledge of what has been heard gradually opens out. 

You know, it is as when water uninterruptedly dripping on a stone finally makes a hole in it, and then a flood may suddenly surge through which will bring Enlightenment.

Be it the perusal of Sacred Texts, listening to religious discourses, engaging in kirtan - God must be the alpha and omega of whatever is done. When reading, read about Him, when talking, talk of Him and when singing, sing His praises. 

Take for instance the study of Vedanta. Some seekers become completely drowned in it.

Just as others may so lose themselves in kirtan as to fall into a trance, a student of Vedanta may become wholly absorbed in his texts, even more so than the one who gets carried away by kirtan. According to one’s specific line of approach, one will be able to achieve full concentration through the study of a particular Scripture, or by some other means.

First comes listening, then reflection, and last of all the translation into action of what has been heard and pondered over. This is why one has first pf all to listen, so that lat on each may he able to select Vedanta or kirtan or whatever else be in his own line.

Have you never come across people making light of kirtan, saying: "What is there to be gained by it?" Nevertheless, after listening to it for some length of time, they actually develop a liking for it. 

Therefore one must listen before one can reflect, and then later, what has been heard and reflected upon will take shape in action suited to the person concerned. To listen to discourses on God or Truth is certainly beneficial, provided one does not allow oneself to be moved by a spirit of fault-finding or disparagement, should there be differences of outlook to one’s own. 

Sat means True Being, the Good; satsang the company of the good, and also a religious gathering. Asal, the opposite of sat, means non-being, wrong, evil. Therefore to find fault (asat) in a religious meeting (saiang) is a contradiction in terms.)

Who is known as a Vaishnava? One who sees Visnu everywhere. And as a Sakta? One who beholds the Great Mother, and nothing save Her. In truth, all the various ways of thought spring from one common source - who then is to be blamed, who to be reviled or suppressed? All are equal in essence.

Thou art Mother, Thou art Father,

Thou art Friend and Thou art Master,

Truly, Thou art all in all.

Every name is Thy Name,

Every quality Thy Quality,

Every form Thy Form indeed.

Yet He is also where no forms exist, as pure unmanifested Being - all depends on one’s avenue of approach.

Is it not said that what is viewed by the Saivas as the Supreme (parama) Siva, and by those who inquire into the Self, as the One Self, is none other than the Brahman Itself? In reality there is no contradiction so long as the slightest difference is perceived, even by a hair’s breadth - how can one speak of the state of Pure Being?

While engaging in sadhana one must concentrate in a single direction; but after it has been completed, what comes then? The cessation of difference distinction and disagreement. Differences do indeed exist on the path, but how can there be a difference of Goal?