Uniqueness of the Ramakrishna Incarnation and Other Essays

By Bhuteshananda Swami

During the long tenure of his spiritual ministry, Swami Bhuteshananda, the 12th President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, delivered discourses at various places both in India and abroad in response to the earnest requests of spiritual seekers.

Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, this book is a compilation of forty-one of these discourses classified under the following major headings:

- Sri Ramakrishna 
- Vedanta and Spiritual Life 
- Religion 
- Miscellaneous 
- Reminiscences

• Language: English
• Publisher: Advaita Ashrama (Ramakrishna Math)
• Release date: Dec 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9788175059184

Book preview

UNIQUENESS OF THE

RAMAKRISHNA

INCARNATION

AND OTHER ESSAYS

SWAMI BHUTESHANANDA

Edited And Translated By

Swami Vimohananda

(PUBLICATION HOUSE OF RAMAKRISHNA MATH)

5 DEHI ENTALLY ROAD • KOLKATA 700 014

Published by

The Adhyaksha

Advaita Ashrama

P.O. Mayavati, Dt. Champawat

Uttarakhand - 262524, India

from its Publication Department, Kolkata

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.advaitaashrama.org

© All Rights Reserved

First Print Edition, June 2018

First Ebook Edition, October 2018

ISBN 978-81-7505-474-5 (Hardbound)

ISBN 978-81-7505-918-4 (epub)

CONTENTS

Publisher’s Note

SRI RAMAKRISHNA

Uniqueness of the Ramakrishna Incarnation

The Message Of Sri Ramakrishna

The Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement

The Message of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda

Sri Ramakrishna and the Religion for Our Time

Sri Ramakrishna: The Great Scientist

Moulding Our Lives According To Sri Ramakrishna’s Teachings

Dharma according to Ramakrishna-Vivekananda

Sri Ramakrishna: The Great Harmoniser

Making Sri Ramakrishna Our Very Own

VEDANTA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

What is Vedanta?

Vedanta as the Gospel of Strength

The Goal of Life and How to Achieve It

The Guru

How to Realise God?

Earnestness in Spiritual Pursuit

How to Overcome Suffering

O Mind, Let Us Go Back to Our Own Abode

Spiritual Life for the Modern Age

Religion in Practice

Realising our True Nature

Immortality

The Path of Bhakti Prescribed by Narada

Supreme Devotion and the Way to Attain it

Work and Meditation in the Ramakrishna Tradition

RELIGION

Is Religion Responsible for Our Decadence?

Religion Must Focus on the Essentials

The Role of Religion In World Peace

MISCELLANEOUS

Shankaracharya: Life and Teachings

Chaitanya: The Incarnation of Love

Bhagavata Darshana

The Ideal of Education

Thoughts on Literature

REMINISCENCES

Swami Brahmananda

Swami Premananda: The Mother of Belur Math

Swami Shivananda

Swami Saradananda

Swami Turiyananda

Swami Adbhutananda

Swami Akhandananda

Early Days at Belur Math

Questions and Answers

Glossary

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Revered Swami Bhuteshanandaji, the twelfth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, was loved and revered by monks and devotees alike for his profound learning, untiring energy, loving heart, and, above all, his spiritual accomplishments.

During the long tenure of his spiritual ministry, Revered Maharaj delivered discourses at various places both in India and abroad in response to the earnest requests of spiritual seekers. This book is a compilation of forty-one of these discourses. The sources for these have been given at the end of each chapter.

A few of the titles of these discourses have been changed to make them reflect the content more precisely. These are noted at the end of the relevant chapters.

People from different walks of life used to meet Swami Bhuteshanandaji nearly every day during his tenure as President of the Ramakrishna Order and ask him various questions on spiritual life. Revered Maharaj would clear their doubts in his characteristically simple way. Some selected questions and Maharaj’s answers to them have been given at the end of the book.

Swami Vimohananda of Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, has compiled and edited these discourses. He has also translated from Bengali the twenty-one discourses taken from Tyagavanhi, the journals Udbodhan and Nibodhata, and the following books: Sri Ramakrishna Bhavadarsha, Sri Ramakrishna Bhavaprabha, Upanishad O Ajker Manush and Sri Ramakrishna O Yugadharma.

Mr. William Page, of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Association of Thailand, has put us under a great debt of gratitude by meticulously editing the whole manuscript and also giving his extremely valuable suggestions.

We are grateful to Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, for kindly permitting us to include in the book the edited versions of articles which originally appeared in the Vedanta Kesari. And we are also grateful to Sarada Math, Dakshineshwar, for their kind permission to use English translations of articles that originally appeared in the Nibodhata.

We also express our thanks to the Udbodhan Karyalaya, Kolkata, for permitting us to publish the English translations of articles which originally appeared in the journal Udbodhan as well as in the following books: Sri Ramakrishna Bhavadarsha, Sri Ramakrishna Bhavaprabha, Upanishad O Ajker Manush and Sri Ramakrishna O Yugadharma.

We are indebted to Swami Chetanananda for letting us use an adapted version of the glossary from his book Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play.

We are certain that this book will be warmly received by all devotees of Sri Ramakrishna.

PUBLISHER

Kolkata

June 2018

SRI RAMAKRISHNA

Sri Ramakrishna

THE UNIQUENESS OF THE RAMAKRISHNA INCARNATION

Swami Vivekananda on Sri Ramakrishna

In his countless letters, numerous speeches, and valuable writings, Swami Vivekananda has discussed various aspects of subjects such as literature, science, art, history, political science, and the social sciences in an original manner. However, surprising as it may seem, how little Swamiji has spoken and written about his own Master, Sri Ramakrishna, who was ever awake in his heart and thoughts—in fact, who permeated his whole being through and through! Regarding Sri Ramakrishna, Swamiji once told his disciple Sharatchandra Chakravarty:

The Master was the king of the spiritual realm and the concentrated embodiment of many previous incarnations. I haven’t the least inkling of who he really was even after spending my whole life in practising austerities. Therefore one should speak about him with restraint. He has fulfilled the spiritual lives of all his devotees by giving them as much as they were capable of accepting. Even if a person can assimilate only a drop from the ocean of his spiritual realisations, he will be converted into a god at that very moment. Has anyone ever come across such a synthesis of spiritual ideals in any other personality in the religious history of the world? Try to understand from this the one who came to this earth as Sri Ramakrishna. To call him an incarnation of God will be belittling him! (1)

In fact, Swamiji couldn’t control his emotions while speaking about the Master. Often, the very mention of Sri Ramakrishna’s name brought tears to his eyes and made his voice falter. Swamiji also told the same disciple about the Master, Shall people like us ever be able to do all that he has done? None of us [the Master’s disciples] has yet understood how great he was. That is why I do not venture to speak about him anywhere and everywhere. Only he knew who he really was. His body was that of a human being, but everything else about him was superhuman! (2)

Once, when the disciple asked Swamiji if he thought the Master was an incarnation of God, Swamiji replied, First tell me: What do you understand by an incarnation of God? The disciple said, Why, I mean someone like Sri Ramachandra, Sri Krishna, Sri Gauranga, Buddha, Jesus and others. Swamiji’s startling reply was: "I know Sri Ramakrishna to be even greater than those you have just named. What to speak of believing, which is a petty thing—I know!" (3)

Such an attitude of Swamiji towards his Master was born from the depths of his heart. He has expressed his devotion, love, and deep faith in Sri Ramakrishna in the famous salutary verse he composed: I bow down to Ramakrishna, who is the establisher of religion, the embodiment of all religions, and the greatest of all incarnations. In order to understand this verse, which is much like an aphorism, we should first have an idea of the nature of an incarnation. Then we can try to understand why Swamiji called Sri Ramakrishna the greatest of all incarnations.

The Meaning of Avatara or Incarnation of God

The term avatara is found in the Puranas. There is no specific mention of this word in the Vedas. The Lord desired that He would be many, and thus He entered creation. (4) In such Vedic passages we get only a hint about the principle behind the incarnations. The commentators on such passages have said that an incarnation is one who manifests himself in the world of maya from the divine state beyond maya. Whose manifestation is it? Indicating himself, Sri Ramakrishna told Swamiji, He who was Rama and Krishna, is now Ramakrishna in this body—but not in your Vedantic sense! (5)

According to the Advaita Vedanta, Brahman alone is real, and the world is unreal. The formless, changeless, actionless, attributeless Brahman cannot come or go anywhere. But in this empirical world, which consists of multiplicity, God can and does come to show mankind the path to divinity. Brahman or Ishvara comes as an incarnation. It can also be said that Mahashakti, or the Primordial Power, which is not different from Brahman, comes down as an incarnation. Although She is none other than Brahman, She assumes a form to create the universe.

Though [the supreme Prakriti is] formless and attributeless, She is also with form. In the state of manifestation, She assumes numerous names and forms. In the attributeless state She is only indicated by Truth, Knowledge and Bliss; but She is not to be known through any other means like direct sense experience. (6) Although the Lord is involved in maya, He is also the ruler of maya. He is then possessed of the six divine attributes (*) and is called Bhagavan. It is He who comes down in every age as an incarnation. It is written in the Bhagavata (1.3.1), "Desirous of creating the universe, the omnipotent and omniscient Lord assumed, by His creative will, the Cosmic Form (virat), formed of the sixteen creative categories like the mahattattva (the Cosmic Mind), ahamkara (the ego sense), and the rest."

He comes down as the sportive divine incarnation of the age in a gross body. Incarnations like Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Chaitanya, and Ramakrishna are like big waves on the ocean of the Primordial Power. That is why the Bhagavata (1.3.26-27) says: Innumerable are the incarnations of Hari, who is absolutely pure in His essence. They are as numerous as waterways streaming out of a perennial lake. The rishis, Manus, the sons of Manus and the powerful Prajapatis—all are particles of Hari.

Scriptures on Incarnation

This statement of the Puranas has its echo in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: Once, praising Sri Krishna, Arjuna said, Thou art Brahman Absolute. Sri Krishna replied, Follow Me, and you will know whether or not I am Brahman Absolute. So saying, Krishna led Arjuna to a certain place and asked him what he saw there. I see a huge tree, said Arjuna, and on it I notice fruits hanging like clusters of blackberries. Then Krishna said to Arjuna, Come near and you will find that these are not clusters of blackberries, but clusters of innumerable Krishnas like Me, hanging from the tree. (7) The implication is that since time immemorial, innumerable incarnations have taken birth, are taking birth, and will take birth. Where is the yardstick that can measure them? They are all embodiments of the supreme Reality, and are all the same in essence. But depending on the manifestation of their powers, they are said to be partial or complete incarnations of God. That there is in fact a difference in the manifestation of power is supported by Sri Ramakrishna himself. He says, It is God alone who has become all this. But in certain places—for instance, in a holy man—there is a greater manifestation than in others. (8) The Gita (10.41) also says, Whatever glorious or beautiful or mighty being exists anywhere, know that it has sprung from but a spark of My splendour.

There are some characteristics which are common to all the incarnations. The Lord incarnates for three important reasons: To establish dharma and to protect the good and punish the wicked. These have been mentioned in the following verse of the Gita (4.7-8): "Whenever there is a decline of dharma, O Bharata, and a rise of adharma, I incarnate myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of dharma, I am born in every age." We find a similar verse in the Chandi (11.54-55): Whenever there is trouble owing to the uprising of the demons, I incarnate Myself and destroy them.

As for the reason why God descends as an incarnation, Holy Mother says: It is natural for human beings to forget God; therefore He Himself comes down whenever necessary, performs sadhana, and shows them how to attain Him. (9)

Comparing Avataras

Now, if we are to make a comparative study of incarnations, first of all we should examine how far they succeeded in achieving these objectives. Second, we should see how many people they have inspired to pursue spiritual life seriously. Third, we should also try to find out whether their influence was limited to any particular place, region, or group of people, or whether it was universal. Further, how permanent and far-reaching was this influence? Fourth, we should examine how relevant their teachings were to the era in which they incarnated. And, finally, how much in harmony their divine and human natures were.

Swami Vivekananda has honoured his Master, Sri Ramakrishna with the epithet the establisher of dharma (sthapakaya cha dharmasya). This is worth noting. What is dharma? It has been defined thus: The training which lifts up the living being beyond sorrow and misery is dharma. Sri Ramakrishna was not the originator of any new faith or religion. He came to establish the eternal dharma. The religion of the Vedanta, which is eternal and immortal, is independent of the limitations of time and place and can therefore be considered a universal religion. This religion is all-encompassing and is not limited to ritualistic worship or belief in this or that tenet.

The ancient sages did not reject the world as an illusion, but they positively accepted it as Brahman. According to them, The individual soul is Brahman Itself. (10) That is why their attention was solely fixed on elevating the lives of human beings in all possible ways. As Swamiji has said, we are the children of immortality, and shall return to immortality alone. The only aim of human life is to realise our true nature. The teachings of incarnations which take us towards that goal, and prevent us from deviating from the supreme ideal, are what constitute dharma, or the path we should follow.

This dharma is the dharma of love, the all-encompassing dharma of humanity. The gist of Indian sadhana can be summed up thus: In attaining knowledge lies the fulfillment of life, and knowledge attains fulfillment when it culminates in love. The elaborate rituals, which consist of numerous dos and don’ts, and which in subsequent times became tools for the priests to earn their bread, are not part of the dharma of the Upanishads. The dharma of India is spirituality, and it is centred in the Self, or Atman. Advaita is its fundamental ideal. But Advaita is not a vacuum or nihilism. By relinquishing everything unreal, by discriminating This is not Brahman, we should finally realise that Everything is indeed Brahman (11) and All this is pervaded by God. (12) According to the Master, liberation is not the last word in spiritual life. After this comes the attainment of that love which enables us to serve jiva as Shiva, i.e., to serve human beings knowing them to be manifestations of the divine.

With the flow of time, when selfish and worldly-minded people forget the eternal dharma and become antagonistic towards others, then begins the decline of religion. Then arise various sects whose chief characteristics are narrowness and bigotry. Confused and confounded human beings then search for someone to show them the way out of this darkness, and pray earnestly to God to have mercy on them and save them by manifesting His power. Then arrives the incarnation of the age.

The Speciality of the Ramakrishna Incarnation

The Ramakrishna incarnation happened at a critical juncture in world history. Human beings have always had various kinds of problems. These problems relate to the individual, society, class, and country. During the times of Ramachandra, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, and Chaitanya, the problems were localised. But from the eighteenth century onwards, thanks to science, our earth has become one big family. Therefore the problems of today do not pertain to any single nation or faction. Any problem or its solution should be considered in the global context. Compared to the painful situation we are passing through nowadays, Swamiji called the difficulties faced in the past mere mud puddles.

From a superficial viewpoint, it would appear that Sri Ramakrishna, let alone dealing with universal problems, didn’t even try to solve the burning problems of India like social injustice, caste discrimination, or the narrowness of different faiths and religious denominations. He never even gave his opinion on these topics, and neither did he stand against any political or religious organisation. He didn’t leave Dakshineshwar to go out as a religious preacher, nor did he give lectures at Dakshineshwar itself. He only moulded his own life on those spiritual truths he had realised through arduous sadhana, and taught them in extremely simple language to those who came to him. And the way he influenced misguided but sincere English-educated Bengali youths, reforming their minds as one would a piece of clay, and giving them light where there had been only darkness, by this method alone, is without parallel. What could be a greater miracle than this?

The long-forgotten glory of the eternal dharma became rejuvenated in those few young men and others who were influenced by Sri Ramakrishna’s life and teachings. They spread his message in India and other parts of the world after his passing away. As a result, within a very short time the Master’s life and teachings revolutionised the world’s thought current effortlessly and silently. This had never happened with any previous incarnation. Another unique quality of the Master is that by himself practising the spiritual disciplines of different religions as well as of different religious sects present in India, he brought about a sweet harmony among them. He welcomed all with open arms: non-dualists, dualists, qualified non-dualists, Shaivas, Shaktas, Vaishnavas, as well as people belonging to organisations like the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj, and boldly declared: As many faiths, so many paths. Swamiji went so far as to say that even the knowledge of the infinite Brahman may have its limits, but the Master’s spiritual moods were limitless. That is why Swamiji called Sri Ramakrishna the greatest of incarnations.

Echoing what his Master had taught, Swamiji once said: Many become wholly preoccupied with the outward forms and observances merely and fail to direct their minds to thoughts of the Atman! If you remain day and night within the narrow groove of ordinances and prohibitions, how will there be any expression of the soul? The more one has advanced in the realisation of the Atman, the less is he dependent on the observances of forms. Shankaracharya also has said, ‘Where is there any ordinance or prohibition for him whose mind is always above the play of the gunas?’ Therefore the essential truth is realisation. Know that to be the goal. Each distinct creed is but a way to the Truth. (13)

Ramakrishna’s Sadhanas and Attainments

To know Ishvara or Brahman completely is impossible, because He is infinite and His nature can’t be expressed in words. Therefore an aspirant realises only that much of God as he is able to grasp. Brahman alone is real; It is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss absolute. The goal of human life is to realise Brahman. For this, spiritual practices have to be performed intensely for a long period of time; their nature will differ according to the nature of the aspirant. The Master didn’t favour or reject any type of sadhana. The route and the vehicle a person chooses to reach his destination depends upon his choice. That is why the Master didn’t want us to undermine anybody’s spiritual attitude.

We all are travellers along the spiritual path; therefore friction or hatred shouldn’t find a place in our lives. If we possess true yearning, we can realise God by following any path. Sri Krishna says in the Gita (4.11): In whatsoever way men approach Me, even so do I reward them; for It is my path, O Partha, that men follow in all things. Therefore, if the aspirant is sincere, he need not be afraid. No evil befalls a man who does good. (14) If necessary, the Lord Himself will correct his mistakes and guide him along the right path. Sooner or later, all will reach the goal. As the Master says, No one starves at the Annapurna temple at Varanasi.

Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual practices were truly unique. His love and reverence for each type of sadhana was not mere lip-service. He had actually realised that they all lead to the same goal by his superhuman practices of different paths. The essence of the scriptures was exemplified in his sadhana. As said before, this is unique in the Ramakrishna incarnation.

He showed the same intensity of devotion and steadfastness in practising Christianity and Islam as he did in practising the disciplines of Shaivas, Shaktas, and Vaishnavas. What superhuman courage it must have taken to practise these faiths in the precincts of the Kali Temple in those days! The Master even worshipped his own wife as the Mother of the universe and, while doing so, lost all external consciousness in samadhi! Without the least hesitation we can say that such rigorous sadhanas had never been practised before, and this is definitely one of the reasons why Swamiji called the Master the greatest of incarnations.

Finally came his Advaita sadhana. Sri Ramakrishna realised Brahman in nirvikalpa samadhi. But he didn’t stop there. He came down from that exalted state to share his experience with others. He realised the truth that The same non-dual Atman dwells in all beings; (15) he was the wise man of the Upanishads who beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings. (16)

For him, all religions were his own. In Rabindranath Tagore’s words, in his life were united diverse streams of sadhana of countless aspirants. Since their Master was the embodiment of all religions, his disciples didn’t form any sect.

The supreme ideal is that Brahman should be realised in every state of mind. (17) This wonderful saint of Dakshineshwar was able to do this in a measure never seen before. Therefore we see that this physician who cures worldliness and who has shown various sports of love divine was also firmly established on the pinnacle of Advaita. All this, in a single person! No wonder that Swamiji said that his Master was a tremendous performer of deeds. (#)

The Vedas say, Truth is one, sages call It by various names. In Advaita lies the culmination of the Vedas. But as long as the ego remains, duality cannot be negated. Therefore both duality and non-duality have been accepted in the Vedas. In Sri Ramakrishna’s life we see that, although he once stayed in the realm of Advaita for as long as six months, he brought his mind down to do good to the world. According to him: God includes the universe and its living beings. Suppose you have separated the shell, flesh, and seeds of a bel-fruit and someone asks you the weight of the fruit. Will you leave aside the shell and the seeds, and weigh only the flesh? Not at all. To know the real weight of the fruit, you must weigh the whole of it—the shell, the flesh, and the seeds. Only then can you tell its real weight. The shell may be likened to the universe, and the seeds to living beings. (18) Once, when his foremost disciple Narendra wanted to remain immersed in samadhi, the Master scolded him and said: You are extremely small-minded! There is a state higher than that.

The sages of India did not seek liberation alone; they wanted to dedicate their lives to the good of the world. To serve living beings, realising them to be manifestations of the divine—this is the ideal of the eternal Vedic religion. As the Master said: Who are you to show compassion? Not compassion for others, but rather the service of man, recognising him to be a veritable manifestation of God. (19) This one idea contained the seed which transformed Narendranath into Swami Vivekananda. Hence the Order which bears his guru’s name has adopted this mantra as their motto: Who loves all beings without distinction, he indeed is worshipping best his God. (20) The Master was the operator and his disciples were the machines. Their foremost aim was to re-establish the traditional and ever-flowing current of ancient India, the religion whose aim is to uplift humanity. For them, their own liberation was secondary.

No bloodshed, no force, no hatred; only the Master’s pure and unsullied life and his teachings, couched in the simplest language—these have been inspiring people, even over a century after the Master’s passing, to eliminate divisiveness and unite humankind through ties of love and friendship. Is this anything short of a miracle? To bring about such a root-and-branch change in the thought current of humankind without antagonising anybody—can’t this be called a wonderful revolution? Shall we not call the harbinger of such a revolution the greatest incarnation?

Bhavamukha

During his sadhana, Sri Ramakrishna received a command from the Divine Mother thrice, which was to remain in bhavamukha. The meaning of remaining in bhavamukha is twofold. One meaning is to remain at the midpoint between the transcendent and the immanent. That is, to bring down the supreme Power to the world, and to rise above worldly power. Only the foremost of those who have been born to do good to the world can accomplish such a task.

The second meaning is more pervasive. A world teacher should understand all minds in order to help them in their spiritual practices. The spiritual practices of an aspirant depends on his past samskaras, desires, preferences, and his choice of a chosen deity. Each aspirant has a different nature. A person can understand and appreciate the innermost feelings of another only by becoming one with that person’s soul. Sri Ramakrishna had such a unique power. He himself has said [regarding a devotee], Everything inside him can be seen through his eyes, as one sees the objects in a room through a glass door. (21)

Remaining in bhavamukha, the Master could understand the spiritual tendencies of each person who came to him and interact with him accordingly, thereby establishing with him an eternal bond of love. And he would use this love to help him progress towards God. Since he had traversed nearly all the paths of the spiritual world, he was fully conversant with even their minute details.

Since the Master had practised sadhana with the utmost dedication, he had become deeply involved in each of the moods he assumed. For instance, while performing the sadhana to have the vision of Sri Ramachandra, he not only became mentally one with Hanuman, but his body also underwent the pertinent changes. While he was engaged in the sadhana assuming the attitude of a female companion of the Divine Mother (that is, the maidservant attitude), he looked so much like a woman that even Mathuranath, who was his constant companion, couldn’t recognise him. On seeing Gopaler Ma, in ecstasy he would became Gopala himself.

But none of these transformations was pretense. Such identification with the object of meditation was possible only for him. It was only because he could achieve such an identification that people belonging to different faiths could see their respective chosen deities in him and become blessed thereby. Again, many yogis and jnanis realised him in their hearts as the supreme Brahman beyond the three gunas.

Indeed, the spiritual realisations of this incarnation of infinite moods even went beyond those mentioned in the Vedas. In one single personality, he was the ocean of love, the Brahman of the Vedanta, as also gods like Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. He was the embodiment of all the yogas—jnana, bhakti, karma, and raja. In and through him are to be found solutions for everybody’s problems. In none of the past incarnations have been seen such countless spiritual moods, each one being as broad as the sky and as deep as the ocean. Is it any wonder then that he has been called the greatest of incarnations?

Sri Ramakrishna’s arduous, twelve-year-long and extraordinary spiritual practices, his repeated samadhis, his harmonisation of all the diverse faiths, his ethereal personality, which was love personified—all these apart, there is something very significant which Holy Mother says about him. And this is the distinctive feature of this incarnation. Holy Mother says, "I tell you, my son, it never occurred to me that he practised all the religions with the express motive of preaching the idea of spiritual harmony. He was always in a mood of divine ecstasy.… But what you should note, my dear, is that renunciation is his special message in this age. Did anyone see such natural renunciation any time before?" (22)

The greatest curse of the present times is worldliness. Selfishness and egotism have made us sink to abysmal depths. As already mentioned, the Master did not deliver lectures. He taught through his own life; by practical demonstration. In the field of renunciation, too, he was the embodiment of the ideal. In Swami Vivekananda’s words, he was the emperor of renouncers.

At no moment of his life do we see egotism touching him; he never allowed it to raise its head. Relinquishment of the ego to such a degree by any person for all time is something unique. Once the Master asked M., Have I any ego? In answer, M. said: Yes, sir; a little. You have kept it to preserve your body, and to enjoy divine love in the company of the devotees and impart spiritual knowledge to them. Further, you have kept this trace of ego by praying to the Divine Mother for it. Immediately the Master corrected him and said: No. I have not kept it. It is God Himself who has left it in me. (23) Such was his total dedication of body, mind, and soul to the Divine Mother that he couldn’t even pray to Her for his own health.

The little trace of ego that the Divine Mother had left in him was the I of the devotee. This was so that he could experience the sport of the Divine Mother, and be able to do good to the world. Here is a beautiful scene showing his egolessness: when great pundits like Padmalochan praised him, he sat smiling in a corner, unconcerned like a child. Except for truth, he had surrendered everything to the Divine Mother. And since, according to Vedanta, the supreme Truth is not different from the supreme Bliss, that bliss always filled the heart of this Godman.

Sri Ramakrishna’s Divine and Human Aspects

Since the body-idea had completely left him, the Master could stand apart and look upon his throat pain as a witness would. The kick of the priest Haldar couldn’t force him to react; Hriday’s rude behaviour didn’t bring any adverse reaction in the mind; nor did he hesitate in the least to stamp his feet on the costly shawl that Mathuranath gave him. Never did he entertain the slightest worldly desire.

From his childhood the manifestation of divinity was as clear as daylight in the Master. His losing consciousness while going to the Vishalakshi Temple at Anur and regaining consciousness when Mother’s names were sung; his going into ecstasy during the enactment of the role of Shiva; his becoming ecstatic seeing cranes flying against the backdrop of dark clouds—all these are instances of his manifestation of divinity.

He was always filled with a divine mood. About Sri Chaitanya, the Master once said: Chaitanya experienced three states of mind. First, the conscious state, when his mind dwelt on the gross and the subtle. Second, the semi-conscious state, when his mind entered the causal body and was absorbed in the bliss of divine intoxication. Third, the inmost state, when his mind was merged in the Great Cause. (24) This was also true for the Master. While performing sadhana, and also in the last few years of his life, he was always in the semi-conscious or the inmost state. Although his body appeared to be like that of an ordinary human being, it can be said to have been a divine body. Although he frequently went into samadhi, when he returned to the normal plane, nobody could have guessed that he had been in a superconscious state just a few moments earlier.

The Master’s human sport too was beautiful in every way, and he excelled everyone in that too. His sweet behavior and presence of mind endeared him to his friends and elders alike. To bring joy to every heart through fun and wit was natural to him from his childhood. At times he would create a wave of bliss through his mimicry and wit. Once the famous dramatist Girishchandra Ghosh said to the Master, I am not your equal even in joking. (25) All his life, he showered the bliss he enjoyed on the spiritual plane on the physical plane also. He prayed to the Divine Mother, Mother, don’t make me a dry monk; allow me to enjoy the fun in life. (26) By granting this prayer, the Divine Mother brought about a wonderful harmony of the divine and the human in him, which was also seen to some extent in the lives of Sri Krishna and Sri Chaitanya. By being a teacher, father, and friend to his disciples, he not only showed them the way to attain the supreme Reality, but at the same time kept a keen watch over their physical and mental development.

He was always alert. That is why he could look into the minds of others as if looking into a glass case. Since he had a keen eye for details, he could give everyday instances and concrete examples to illustrate abstruse philosophical ideas. He taught Holy Mother how to deal with various kinds of people, and how to do even ordinary jobs like preparing betel rolls and wicks for the lamp. He could foresee that in future Holy Mother would be the Mother of the monastic order that he would establish. Hence he silently trained her for that part too. To her he was the ideal husband, and to Chandramani Devi, the ideal son.

The Wish-fulfilling Tree

The fullest manifestation of the Master’s divine nature was seen when he became the Wish-fulfilling Tree (Kalpataru) at Kashipur on 1 January 1886. His self-revelation and the bestowing of the boon of fearlessness on his devotees on that day is without parallel. It is said that the grace of Christ, Buddha, and Chaitanya was obtained by only a few fortunate souls. But to shower grace on so many disciples at one time, and to bring such a tremendous transformation in their spiritual lives by a mere touch, was reserved only for the Master.

Even the Master’s transforming so many lives on the Kalpataru Day, and on the Kali Puja night at Shyampukur, and on numerous occasions at Dakshineshwar, becomes secondary when we see how, even over a hundred years after his advent, his power is working in many countries of the world and transforming numerous lives. This far-reaching influence is unique to the Ramakrishna incarnation. It is true that the Master’s message was spread by Swami Vivekananda and his other disciples, but weren’t they instruments in the hands of their Master? It was the universal message of the Master, which contains the essence of India’s eternal Vedic religion, that they carried to the different parts of the world.

Once Swamiji said to his disciple Sharatchandra Chakravarty: The present-day civilisation of the West is multiplying day by day only the wants and distresses of men. On the other hand, the ancient Indian civilisation, by showing people the way to spiritual advancement, doubtless succeeded, if not in removing once for all, at least in lessening, in a great measure, the material needs of men. In the present age, it is to bring into coalition both these civilisations that Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna was born. (27)

The innate truths in Sri Ramakrishna’s simple words are eternal. They bring light and hope in this age when people are steeped in the darkness of ignorance, drowned in worldly pleasures, strained by divisiveness, and always dissatisfied. Sri Ramakrishna is the greatest refuge for all men and women, whether they be educated or illiterate, rich or poor, householders or monks, respected or despised. Through his followers, a silent revolution has begun—not only at the individual level, but also at the national and international levels. By reestablishing the truths of Vedanta and the true meaning of religion, the Master has struck a lethal blow at the animosity between followers of different religions and the contentious culture which is causing so much misery today.

The effects of the glorious attainments of Sri Ramakrishna, which were achieved just by sitting in a small room on the banks of the river Ganga, have only just begun to be felt. They will keep manifesting for a long time to come. The combined efforts of thousands of dedicated souls will certainly bring about a spiritual revolution, which will transform our world into a holy place. Swamiji saw with his divine eyes the possibilities of the Ramakrishna incarnation and declared, From the date that the Ramakrishna Incarnation was born, has sprung the Satya Yuga (Golden Age). (28)

To the blessed feet of the great harbinger of the Satya Yuga, therefore, was dedicated this remarkable mantra, which had sprung from the very depths of the heart of Swami Vivekananda: I bow down to Ramakrishna, the establisher of religion, the embodiment of all religions, and the greatest of incarnations." ($)

(Sri Ramakrishna Bhavaprabha, vol. 1, pp. 210-25)

---

References and Footnotes

[1] Swami Vivekanander Vani O Rachana, 10 vols (Udbodhan Karyalaya, Kolkata, 2017) 9.160

[2] Ibid., 9.92

[3] Ibid.

[4] Taittiriya Upanishad, 2.6

[5] Swami Nikhilananda, Life of Sri Ramakrishna, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, 1928, p. 456.

[6] Chandi, 29

[7] The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, trans. Swami Nikhilananda (Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, 2002), p. 128

[8] Ibid., 181

[9] Mayer Katha, Udbodhan Karyalaya, Kolkata, 1962, p. 261

[10] Sri Shankaracharya, Brahmajnanavalimala, 29

[11] Chhandogya Upanishad, 3.14.1

[12] Isha Upanishad, 1

[13] Complete Works, 9 vols (Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, 1–8, 1989; 9, 1997), 7.211

[14] Bhagavad Gita, 6.40

[15] Katha Upanishad, 2.2.9

[16] Isha Upanishad, 6

[17] Kena Upanishad, 2.4

[18] Gospel, p. 328

[19] The Life of Swami Vivekananda, by His Eastern and Western Disciples, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, 1989, 2 vols., 1.139

[20] Complete Works, 4.496

[21] Gospel, p. 160

[22] Swami Gambhirananda, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, 1991, p. 463

[23] Gospel, p. 505

[24] Ibid., p. 330

[25] Ibid., p. 694

[26] Swami Saradananda, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, trans. Swami Chetanananda, Vedanta Society of St Louis, 2003), p. 686

[27] Complete Works, 6.462-3

[28] Ibid., 6.327-8

[*] Dominion, Might, Glory, Splendour, Wisdom, and Dispassion

[#] The epithets in quotations are from the Sanskrit hymn written by Swami Vivekananda on Sri Ramakrishna beginning with Achandala pratihatarayo.

[$] स्थापकाय च धर्मस्य सर्वधर्मस्वरूपिणे ।

अवतारवरिष्ठाय रामकृष्णाय ते नम: ॥

THE MESSAGE OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA

(Talk delivered at the Ramakrishna Ashrama,

Bangalore, on 16 February 1986)

The message of Sri Ramakrishna is so vast and deep that it is impossible to expound it in detail. I can only touch upon a few salient points. Whatever fell from the lips of Sri Ramakrishna and whatever he did was for the good of the world. Therefore I believe that all of his teachings that I share with you will be helpful to you.

From the early days of his life, Sri Ramakrishna was mad after God. God-realisation was his only concern in life; other things were absolutely secondary. He said, Verily, I tell you, I know nothing but God. He lived for God-realisation; however, he wished to have this realisation not for his own enjoyment, but for the joy of sharing it with others. Let me give you an illustration. One day he was in deep samadhi. It persisted, but he was trying to keep it under control. When a man enters samadhi and gets completely absorbed in God, it is impossible for him to communicate with others. So Sri Ramakrishna prayed to the Divine Mother of the universe thus: O Mother, do not make me forgetful of the external world. I want to talk to the devotees.

Ordinary people cannot understand the deep significance of this utterance. Samadhi is a state which all spiritual aspirants aspire to; it is the culmination of the pursuit of spiritual life. For the Master, samadhi had become natural and habitual. But when he was in the company of devotees, he tried to avoid getting absorbed in samadhi lest he should forget the world and thereby deprive the people assembled before him of the great truth which he was eager to share with them. He was an unending fountain of the eternal wisdom derived from his various experiences of the ultimate Reality. At the same time, he was also a keen observer of the external world when he was not absorbed in samadhi.

There are some points that Sri Ramakrishna particularly emphasised. First, according to him, God-realisation is the only aim of human life. Without God-realisation, everything is incomplete; with God-realisation, nothing more remains to be attained here or hereafter. Now, what did the Master mean by God-realisation? To put it briefly, it means an intuitive experience of the Ultimate Ground of all existence in which the seer and the seen become one. God-realisation does not mean merely the vision of various divine forms or having some higher feelings which may be described by different people in different ways. Complete absorption of the individual self in the Absolute: that is what the Master meant by God-realisation. As it has been beautifully described in the Upanishads: Just as pure water falling into a vast sheet of pure water becomes one with it, so also becomes the self of a contemplative man who has realised God. (1) That is to say,