"Diverse courses of Worship from varied springs of fulfilment, have mingled in your meditation. The manifold revelation of the joy of the Infinite, has given form to a shrine of unity in your life. Where from far and near arrive salutations, to which I join mine own." — Rabindranath Tagore
Sri Ramakrisna was born in 1836 in Kamarpukur, a small village in West Bengal, to a brahmin family. His parents were of humble means, but extremely pious and devout. When Sri Ramakrisna was five years old, he was sent to the village primary school. Here he learned to read and write, but showed great aversion to arithmetic. His speech was charming, and he was endowed with so wonderful a memory that if he but once heard a song or a play he could perfectly reproduce its text. He loved acting. Instead of attending school and minding his studies, he would run away with some of his schoolfellows to a mango-grove on the outskirts of the village, and there, with boyish exuberance, perform the pastoral drama of Sri Krishna’s life.
When he was six or seven years old, he had a striking experience— one which he often related to his disciples in later years. “I was walking alone in a paddy field,” he would say, “carrying a small basket of puffed rice. Looking at the sky overhead while eating the rice, I saw that it was covered with rain clouds. Suddenly I noticed snow-white wild cranes flying in a row against that dark background. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful sight. An ecstatic feeling arose in my heart, and I lost all outward consciousness. I do not know how long I remained in that state. When I regained consciousness I was in my home, brought there by some friendly people.”
At the age of nine Sri Ramakrisna was invested, according to brahmin custom, with the sacred thread, and initiated into the Gayatri mantra, a Vedic prayer. He was thenceforward allowed to do the worship of the household deity, Rama. He manifested religious moods. He would often remain for a long time absorbed in God, losing all outward consciousness. He used to go alone into the woods, find a solitary place, and there meditate for hours under the shade of a tree.
Many wandering monks would halt and rest at Kamarpukur on their way to Puri, the well-known place of pilgrimage. A rich man of the village had built a guesthouse for the pilgrims and had also made it a practice to provide them with food. As a young boy, Sri Ramakrisna was often in their company and would do small services for them, and they loved him.
During his early teens, the ideal of a monastic life attracted Sri Ramakrisna, but he soon gave up the idea, thinking to himself, “To renounce the world just for one’s own liberation is selfishness. I must do something that will be of benefit to all mankind.”
Within a short time after his investiture with the sacred thread, there occurred an incident which showed his keen spiritual understanding. An important gathering of pundits took place at the house of a rich man of the village on the occasion of a memorial service. At this meeting there arose a controversy regarding a complicated philosophical question, and the scholars could not arrive at any correct solution. Sri Ramakrisna and other young boys were present to see the fun. While his friends were enjoying themselves mimicking the gestures of the pundits, Sri Ramakrisna was seated silently by an elderly scholar and was listening intently to the discussion. Suddenly he touched the pundit and whispered in his ear. The elderly man listened attentively to Sri Ramakrisna’s words, and seeing immediately that the boy had given a cogent solution, he stood up with him on his shoulder and repeated it to the company. All the pundits praised young Ramakrisna and blessed him with all their heart. And the villagers marvelled at his understanding.
When he was seven years old, Sri Ramakrisna’s father died. Ramkumar, his eldest brother, who was a great Sanskrit scholar, went to Calcutta and opened a Sanskrit school to earn his living and support the family. When, years later, he learned that young Ramakrisna was neglecting his studies in the village, he sent for him, intending to have him study in his Sanskrit school. It is a shame, Ramkumar thought, that a brahmin boy of his family should remain ignorant. So Ramakrisna, now seventeen, went to Calcutta. But when Ramkumar asked him to attend his school, the young boy replied with great firmness, “Brother, I do not wish to waste my fife on a mere bread-winning education. I want to acquire that knowledge which would awaken in me consciousness of the eternal Reality and thus make my life blessed forever.” He remained adamant on the subject, and his brother was at a loss what to do with him.
An unexpected event solved the problem. An enormously wealthy woman named Rani Rasamani built a temple on the bank of the Ganges at Daksineswar, five miles north of Calcutta. It was dedicated to the Mother of the Universe. Ramkumar was asked to be the priest of this temple, and he took his young brother to help him. Sri Ramakrisna liked the calm, serene atmosphere of the place, and so it came about that here at Daksineswar, by the sacred river, he spent the rest of his life.
Ramkumar died after serving only a year as temple priest. Ramakrisna was now appointed to his brother’s place. He performed the daily duties of a priest, but his inquiring mind longed for something more, and he questioned within himself: “What is all this for? Is the Divine Mother real? Does she listen to my prayers, or is this mere imagination conjured up by human brains?” He began to yearn increasingly for the direct realization of God the Mother. And soon life became unbearable without her. He would rub his face on the ground like one gripped by pain and cry: “Oh, Mother, another day is gone and still I have not seen you!” Finally, one day, she revealed herself. Sri Ramakrisna later described his first vision of the Divine Mother to his disciples. To quote his words:
“House, walls, doors, the temple—all disappeared into nothingness. Then I saw an ocean of light, limitless, living, conscious, blissful. From all sides waves of light, with a roaring sound, rushed towards me and engulfed and drowned me, and I lost all awareness of outward things.”
When Sri Ramakrisna regained consciousness, he was uttering the words “Mother, Mother”. To his disciples he used to say:
“When true yearning for God comes, then follows the sight of him, then rises the sun of knowledge in the heart. Yearn for him, and love him intensely!... The mother loves her child, the chaste wife loves her husband, the miser loves his wealth; let your love for God be as intense as these three loves combined—then shall you see him!”
After the first vision of the Mother of the Universe, Sri Ramakrisna longed to see her continuously. A sort of divine madness seized him. And then, to use his own words, he began to see the Mother “peeping from every nook and corner”. After this he could no longer perform the ritualistic worship. Worldly people thought he had lost his sanity. One day, in the midst of the food offering to the Deity, he gave the offering to a cat which had walked into the temple, recognizing the presence of the Divine Mother in the cat. Naturally in the eyes of the world this was either madness or sacrilege.
Sri Ramakrisna’s behaviour became stranger and stranger; but it must be noted that whenever persons of genuine spirituality met him they considered him to have attained a blessed state—as we shall see later.
At last rumours of his strange conduct reached the ears of his mother at Kamarpukur, and she became anxious to see him. So he went to his village to visit her. He was now twenty-three years old. In Kamarpukur he continued to live in a God-intoxicated state, indifferent as ever to worldly concerns. Finally his mother and brother thought marriage would be just the thing by which to interest him in worldly matters. Accordingly they began to look about for a suitable bride. Sri Ramakrisna did not object, and the search was enthusiastically continued, but with no success. In the end, finding his mother and brother depressed by their failure, Sri Ramakrisna said to them in a semiconscious state: It is useless to try here and there. Go to Jayrambati [a village three miles from Kamarpukur] and there you will find the bride, the daughter of Ramachandra Mukhopadhyaya, providentially reserved for me.” The girl was found, but she was only five years old. Her parents were agreeable to the marriage, but Chandra Devi, mother of Sri Ramakrisna, was somewhat hesitant because of her tender age. However, considering the fact that the girl was the one selected by her son, she assented. So without delay Sri Ramakrisna was married to Sarada Devi. After the marriage ceremony was over—it was more a sort of betrothal—Sarada Devi was sent back to her parents’ home. Sri Ramakrisna continued to stay at Kamarpukur for about a year and a half.
When Sri Ramakrisna returned to the temple garden at Daksineswar, he forgot his marriage and its responsibilities and plunged deeper and deeper into spiritual practices.
In 1861, about six months after his return from Kamarpukur, Sri Ramakrisna one morning noticed a sannyasini (nun) with long dishevelled hair alighting from a country boat and entering the courtyard of the temple. He sent for her. As soon as the sannyasini met Sri Ramakrisna, she burst into tears of joy and said, “My son, you are here! I have been searching for you so long, and now I have found you at last.”
“How could you know about me, Mother?” asked Sri Ramakrisna.
She replied, “Through the grace of the Divine Mother I came to know that I was to meet three of you. Two I have already met, and today I have found you.”
This nun’s name was Yogeswari, but she was known as Brahmani. She was a woman of high spiritual attainments and was well versed in Vaisnava and Tantric literature. Sri Ramakrisna sat beside her like a little boy sitting by his mother, and told her of his spiritual struggles, visions, and attainments. He further mentioned to her that people thought he was mad. Full of motherly tenderness, she said, “Who calls you mad, my son? This is divine madness. Your state is what is known as mahabhava. Sri Radha experienced it, and so did Sri Caitanya. I shall show you in the scriptures that whoever has earnestly yearned for God has experienced this state.”
So far, whatever spiritual advances Sri Ramakrisna had made were the result of his own independent struggles. He saw the Divine Mother of the Universe, and talked with her. Now she commanded him to undergo spiritual disciplines under the direction of the Brahmani. Sri Ramakrisna accepted her as his first guru. She also, as we have seen, had received the mandate from the Mother to teach this young man.
The Brahmani, as already stated, was learned in Hindu religious literature. She began at once to teach Sri Ramakrisna the spiritual disciplines recommended in the Tantras. But of this we may hear from Sri Ramakrisna himself:
“After performing the worship of the Divine Mother, I used to meditate according to the Brahmani”s directions. As soon as I began to tell my beads, I would be overwhelmed with ecstatic fervour and enter into samadhi. I cannot describe the wonderful spiritual visions I used to have. They followed one another in quick succession. The Brahmani made me undergo all the sixty-four kinds of spiritual disciplines mentioned in the principal Tantras. Most of these were difficult practices, but the infinite grace of the Mother carried me through them with ease.”
After attaining the goal aimed at in the Tantric spiritual disciplines, Sri Ramakrisna took to the practices of Vaisnavism. The Vaisnavasfollow the path of devotion, which advocates worshipping God as a Personal Being in his aspect of Visnu. It is Visnu who from time to time appears on earth in human form—an avatar. He once lived as Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, and again as Krishna, the avatar of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Bhagavata Purana. In following the path of devotion, the worshipper enters into a relation to God in his form of Rama or Krishna. There are five such relations, corresponding to those on the human plane (we have met them before): Santa, the peaceful attitude, with only an indefinite relation; dasya, the relation of servant to master or of child to parent; sakhya, the relation of friend to friend; vatsalya, the relation of parent to child; and madhura, the sweet relationship of lover to the beloved. Vaisnavism is the philosophy propounded and lived by such saints and seers as Ramanuja, Vallabha, Madhwa, and Sri Caitanya.
Sri Ramakrisna entered into the Vaisnava path first by worshipping Rama as his own child, the relation of vatsalya, for there had come to him a mystic saint, Jatadhari, who had attained the highest spiritual state as a devotee of Rama, and who initiated him into his own form of worship. Afterwards Sri Ramakrisna took up various relations in his devotion to Krishna. Through each of these he achieved union with God.
A few months later Tota Puri came to the temple garden at Daksineswar. Tota Puri was a Vedantic monk of the order of Samkara, and an illumined soul, a knower of Brahman. As soon as he met Sri Ramakrisna, he recognized in him a highly advanced spirit. He asked him, “Should you like to learn Vedanta from me?”
Sri Ramakrisna answered, “I don’t know, but I shall ask Mother.”
“All right, go and ask Mother. I shall not be here long!” Sri Ramakrisna went to the temple and received a command from the Divine Mother—”Yes, go and learn of him. It is for this purpose that he has come here.” In a state of semi-consciousness, and with a beaming countenance, Sri Ramakrisna returned to Tota Puri and said that he had received the Mother’s permission.
Tota Puri now acquainted him with the Upanisadic teaching of the identity of the Atman with Brahman, and initiated him into the monastic life.
“After the initiation [says Sri Ramakrisna] the naked one (Tota Puri) asked me to withdraw my mind from all objects and to become absorbed in contemplation of the Atman. But as soon as I withdrew my mind from the external world, the familiar form of the blissful Mother, radiant and of the essence of pure consciousness, appeared before me as a living reality and I could not pass beyond her. In despair I said to the naked one, “It is hopeless. I cannot raise my mind to the unconditioned state and reach the Atman.” He grew excited and sharply said, “What! You say you can’t do it! No, you must!” So saying he looked about him, and finding a piece of broken glass picked it up. Pressing its point between my eyebrows, he said, “Concentrate the mind on this point.” Then with great determination I began to meditate as directed, and when this time also the blessed form of the Mother appeared before me, I used my discrimination as a sword and severed her form in two. Then my mind soared immediately beyond all duality and entered into nirvikalpa, the nondual, unitary consciousness.”
Tota Puri sat for a long time silently watching his disciple. Then he left the room, locking the door behind him. Three days passed, and still he heard no sound. When Tota Puri finally opened the door, he found Sri Ramakrisna seated in the same position in which he had left him. Tota Puri watched him, and wondered, “Is it really true that this man has attained in the course of a single day what took me forty years of strenuous practice to achieve]” He examined Sri Ramakrisna closely and in joyous bewilderment exclaimed, “Great God! It is nothing short of a miracle!” It was the nirvikalpa samadhi— the culmination of nondual Vedantic practice. Tota Puri now took steps to bring his disciple’s mind down to the normal plane. Slowly Sri Ramakrisna regained consciousness of the outer world, and seeing his guru before him, he prostrated. And Tota Puri gave his disciple a warm embrace.
After Tota Puri had left Daksineswar, Sri Ramakrisna resolved to remain immersed in nirvikalpa samadhi, and he passed six months in this state without any consciousness of body or of external surroundings. In later years he referred to this period of his life as follows:
“For six months I remained continuously in the bliss of union with Brahman. I was not conscious of day or night. It would have been impossible for the body to survive except that a monk who was present at the time realized my state of mind and regularly brought me food; and whenever he found me a little conscious, he would press it into my mouth. Only a little of it reached my stomach. Six months passed in this way. ... At last I received the Mother’s command: “Remain in bhavamukha for the good of mankind.”
Henceforward, in general, Sri Ramakrisna lived in bhavamukha, a state between samadhi and normal consciousness. It is very difficult to understand exactly what this state is. In later years, however, the Master described it. He said it was as if on the ocean of Brahman, that infinite ocean of existence, knowledge, and bliss, a stick was floating, dividing the ocean into two parts. On one side is God, and on the other side his devotee—in this case Sri Ramakrisna. The stick which divides the ocean is the ripe ego, never forgetful that it is a child of God. The ripe ego is not harmful. It is like a sword that has touched the philosopher’s stone and turned into gold.
In later years while Sri Ramakrisna would be teaching the word of God he often went into samadhi. This was a daily occurrence.
Now to resume our story. The practice of spiritual disciplines, however, did not stop with the Vedantic experience in Sri Ramakrisna’s case. He had travelled the paths of devotion, yoga, and knowledge, and he had realized the truths taught in Tantrikism, Vaisnavism, and Vedanta. But his heart longed to enjoy the divine life of those outside the pale of Hinduism.
Buddha he regarded as one of the incarnations of God. He remarked about him: “People think Buddha was an atheist, but he was not. Only he could not express in words what he had experienced. When one’s buddhi [intellect] merges in the absolute, pure consciousness, one attains the knowledge of Brahman, one realizes one’s true nature, and that is to become Buddha—enlightened.” So, according to Sri Ramakrisna, Buddha was a Vedantist—only misunderstood.
Islam and Christianity, however, belonged in a different category. These now attracted Sri Ramakrisna. A Sufi mystic living at Daksineswar initiated him into the Islam faith. In Sri Ramakrisna’s own words:
“I began to repeat the holy name of Allah, and would recite the Namaz regularly. After three days I realized the goal of that form of devotion.”
First, Sri Ramakrisna had a vision of a radiant person with a long beard and a solemn countenance. Then he experienced Brahman with attributes, which finally merged into the Impersonal Existence, the attributeless Brahman.
It was some years later that Sri Ramakrisna wanted to explore Christianity. One devotee used to explain the Bible to him whenever he came to Daksineswar. Thus Sri Ramakrisna became drawn to Christ and Christianity. Then one day while he was seated in the drawing-room of Jadu Mallick”s garden house, he saw a picture of the Madonna and Child. He fell into a deeply meditative mood, and the picture suddenly became living and effulgent. A deep love for Christ filled Sri Ramakrisna’s heart, and there opened before him a vision of a Christian church with devotees burning incense and lighting candles before Jesus. For three days Sri Ramakrisna was under the spell of this experience, and on the fourth day, while he was pacing near the Pancavati grove at Daksineswar, he saw an extraordinary-looking person of serene countenance approaching with his gaze intently fixed on him. From the inmost recesses of Sri Ramakrisna’s heart came the realization: “This is Jesus, who poured out his heart’s blood for the redemption of mankind. He is none other than the Rishi Christ, the embodiment of love.” The Son of Man then embraced Sri Ramakrisna and became merged in him. At this the Master went into samadhi. Thus was Sri Ramakrisna convinced that Jesus was an incarnation of God.
Once Sri Ramakrisna was asked why he had followed so many paths; was not one path enough by which to reach the supreme goal. His answer was: “The Mother is infinite—infinite are her moods and aspects. I longed to realize her in all of them. And she revealed to me the truth of many religions.” Thus, though he did not practise varied spiritual disciplines with the specific purpose of bringing harmony among the many faiths, his life demonstrated that harmony. In this connection let us hear some of Sri Ramakrisna’s teachings on the essential identity of the great religions:
“So many religions, so many paths to reach the same goal.11 have practised Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and in Hinduism again, the ways of the different sects. I have found that it is the same God towards whom all are directing their steps, though along different paths.
“The water tank has several ghats. At one Hindus draw water and call it jal; at another Mohammedans draw water and call it pani; at a third Christians draw the same liquid and call it water. The substance is one though the names differ, and everyone is seeking the same thing. Every religion of the world is one such ghat. Go with a sincere and earnest heart by any of these ghats and you will reach the water of eternal bliss. But do not say that your religion is better than that of another.”
To complete the story of Sri Ramakrisna’s life, we must now turn our attention to his relationship with his wife. We have already mentioned how when he was twenty-three years old he married Sarada Devi, then a five-year old girl. Afterwards, for a time, he apparently forgot all about his marriage. But when he was about to take monastic vows, and Tota Puri was ready to initiate him into sannyas, Sri Ramakrisna told him of his marriage. Tota Puri said merely, “What does it matter? Have your wife near you. That will be the real test of your vows and the real proof that you have become a knower of Brahman.”
All these years Sarada Devi had been living with her parents. From her earlier years she had shown an intensely spiritual temperament. Like her husband she had had divine visions. When she grew to be a young woman she longed to be near Sri Ramakrisna. But there was no call from him. Then during the period of the Master’s practice of Islam, people again began to say that he had lost his mind. How could it be that a Hindu priest should worship Allah? The rumour spread and reached the ears of Sarada Devi—now eighteen years old—and though she did not believe it, she felt it her duty to be by the side of her husband. Accordingly she expressed her wish to her father, who took her to Daksineswar. Sri Ramakrisna welcomed his wife and made arrangements for her to stay near him. But he asked her, “Tell me, have you come to drag me down to worldly ways?” Her prompt reply was, “Oh, no. I have come to help you in your chosen path.” Sri Ramakrisna initiated her into the mysteries of spiritual life and supervised her progress. She became his first disciple.
Within six months of his wife’s arrival, on an auspicious night, Sri Ramakrisna made special preparations for worshipping the Divine Mother in his own room and instructed Sarada Devi to be present. The altar, the seat for a worshipper, and all the paraphernalia for worship were ready. There was, however, no image on the altar. Sri Ramakrisna seated himself on the worshipper’s seat and beckoned to Sarada Devi to be seated on the altar. In an ecstatic mood she obeyed him. Sri Ramakrisna invoked the presence of the Mother of the Universe in his wife and began to worship. Sarada Devi, in the meanwhile, entered into samadhi, and Sri Ramakrisna likewise became absorbed. Thus they remained for a long time. When partial outer consciousness came to Sri Ramakrisna, he laid, with appropriate mantra, the fruits of all his spiritual struggles, together with his rosary, at the feet of the Mother of the Universe in the form of his wife.
Sarada Devi lived in her husband’s company for fourteen years and served him and his disciples until Sri Ramakrisna’s death. In later years known as the Holy Mother, she became the guiding spirit of the Order founded in her husband’s name.
Sri Ramakrisna, speaking of his wife, used to say: “After marriage I earnestly prayed to the Divine Mother to root out all consciousness of physical enjoyment from her mind. That my prayer had been granted, I knew from my long association with her.”
Among the sayings of Sri Ramakrisna is this: “When the lotus blossoms, the bees come of their own accord to seek the honey. So let the lotus of your heart bloom, realize God seated within it, and the bees, the spiritual aspirants, will seek you out.” Of the moment of Sri Ramakrisna’s readiness for aspirants, Swami Vivekananda, his chief disciple, speaks thus:
“Ah, the struggles which we experience in our lives [Sri Ramakrisna] had passed through. His hard-earned jewels of spirituality, for which he had given three-quarters of his life, were now ready to be offered to humanity, and then began his mission.”
Many noted intellectuals of the day soon began to visit Sri Ramakrisna, among them Keshab Sen, who was the first man of Western education to recognize his spiritual genius. Keshab, one of the great religious leaders in India at the time, had a large following and both in his sermons and in his magazines he spread the name and fame of the new saint. As a result, many men and women were attracted to religion—including college professors, actors, and scientists. Some of them became Sri Ramakrisna’s disciples.
But Sri Ramakrisna’s real work took root when there came to him a number of young men, mostly in their teens, untouched by worldly ways. Some of them began to live at Daksineswar, associating with him intimately. Among them was Rakhal, who later became known as Swami Brahmananda, and who was regarded by Sri Ramakrisna as his spiritual son.
During Sri Ramakrisna’s fatal illness, when he was removed to Cossipore garden house, most of these young men remained with him to serve and nurse him. Of these, Naren, later known as Swami Vivekananda, was chosen as the leader. It was Naren that Sri Ramakrisna taught how to organize an order of monks to propagate his message.
Sri Ramakrisna died in August, 1886. After his death his young disciples banded together and dedicated their lives “to our own salvation and to the good of mankind”. This is the order known today as the “Ramakrishna Math and Mission, whose headquarters is located at Belur, near Calcutta..
Since the founding of the Order in 1886, participants in the Ramakrisna movement, or Vedantic revival, have gradually increased in numbers, strength, and influence, both in India and in foreign countries. Vedanta societies, so called, founded in Sri Ramakrisna’s name and presided over by monks trained in the Math at Belur, have been established in many parts of the world, especially Western Europe and in North and South America.
Easily the most characteristic aspect of Sri Ramakrisna’s doctrine can be summed up in the words tolerance, reconciliation, and harmony.
The ideas the words stand for are not of course new to Indian religion, which, from its remote beginnings, as we have seen, has seldom been narrowly exclusive or dogmatic; but in Sri Ramakrisna they found a comprehensive and seemingly definitive embodiment. He not only brought into agreement the diverse views of Hinduism, but also managed somehow to include in his native faith all the faiths of the outside world. The idea of the unity of the religious sentiment could hardly be carried further.
In the ultimate reaches of Hinduism, there were,to be sure, no diverse views to be reconciled. When the aspirant attained his ultimate goal, views, of whatever kind, ceased to exist. He was absorbed in Turiya,the transcendental consciousness, he had become one with God. But at lower levels, where the mind tried to determine the nature of God and the universe,differences early arose. Some said that God was personal, some that he was impersonal; some said that he was with form, some that he was without form. Sri Ramakrisna, bringing to bear his own mystic experiences, dissolved, in his simple way, all such oppositions:
“Infinite is God and infinite are his expressions. He who lives continuously in the consciousness of God, and in this alone, knows him in his true being. He knows his infinite expressions, his various aspects. He knows him as impersonal no less than as personal.”
“Brahman, absolute existence, knowledge, and bliss, may be compared to an infinite ocean, without beginning or end. As through intense cold some portions of the water of the ocean freeze into ice,and the formless water appears as having form, so through intense love of the devotee the formless, absolute, infinite Existence manifests himself before him as having form and personality. But forms and aspects disappear before the man who reaches the highest samadhi, who attains the height of nondualistic philosophy, the Vedanta.”
“So long as there is yet a little ego left, the consciousness that “I am a devotee”, God is comprehended as personal, and his form is realized. This consciousness of a separate ego is a barrier that keeps one at a distance from the highest realization. The forms of Kali or of Krishna are represented as of a dark-blue colour. Why? Because the devotee has not yet approached them. At a distance the water of a lake appears blue, but when you come nearer, you find it has no colour. In the same way, to him who attains to the highest truth and experience, Brahman is absolute and impersonal. His real nature cannot be defined in words.”
Following the teachings of Sri Ramakrisna, the highest vision of God can be described in the following words: He indeed has attained the supreme illumination who not only realizes the presence of God,but knows him as both personal and impersonal, who loves him intensely, talks to him, partakes of his bliss. Such an illumined soul realizes the bliss of God while he is absorbed in meditation, attaining oneness with the indivisible,impersonal Being; and he realizes the same bliss as he comes back to normal consciousness and sees this universe as a manifestation of that Being and as a divine play.
What is the relation of God to the universe? In our discussion of the Upanishads we have seen that in the nondual unitary consciousness the universe disappears and there remains only Brahman—the absolute existence, knowledge, and bliss. Again, the universe is seen as Brahman when the divine sight opens up. In the Bhagavad-Gita we read about the illumined soul.
His heart is with Brahman, His eye in all things Sees only Brahman Equally present,Knows his own Atman In every creature, And all creation Within that Atman.
Sri Ramakrisna reconciled the two views of the universe, the one in which it dissolves in illusion, and the other in which it is one with God, in the following words:
“In turiya, the universe of plurality becomes annihilated—there is attained oneness with Brahman.
“When, having attained the nondual Brahman in samadhi, one comes back to the plane of the ego; one realizes that it is Brahman who has become this universe of plurality. To get to the flesh of the fruit you discard its skin and seeds. But when you want to know the total weight of the fruit, you must weigh them all together. The skin, the seeds, the flesh—all belong to one and the same fruit. Similarly, having realized the unchangeable reality—the one absolute Existence —one finds that he who is the absolute, formless, impersonal, infinite God is again one with the relative universe. He who is absolute in one aspect is relative in another aspect, and both aspects belong to one and the same substance....
The sacred syllable Om is explained in the scriptures as a combination of the sounds A, U, M, representing creation, preservation, and dissolution respectively. I compare the sound of Om to the sound of a bell that dissolves in silence. The relative universe dissolves in the imperishable absolute—the great silence. The gross, the subtle, the causal—everything visible and invisible dissolves in the Great Cause. Waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep, the three states of consciousness, are dissolved in the turiya, the transcendental. Once more the bell rings. The sound Om is heard and as it were a heavy weight falls on the bosom of the calm, infinite ocean; immediately the ocean becomes agitated. From the bosom of the absolute rises the relative; from the Great Cause issues forth the causal, the subtle, the gross universe; from the transcendental come the three states of consciousness—waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. Again the waves dissolve in the ocean, and there is the great calm. From the absolute comes the relative, and into the absolute the relative dissolves. I have experienced this infinite ocean of bliss and consciousness; and Mother has shown me how innumerable worlds issue from the ocean and go back into it. I do not know, of course, what is written in books of philosophy.”
“I see the truth directly: what need have I to philosophize? I see how God has become all this—he has become the individual beings and the empirical world. There is nothing but He. But this truth cannot be experienced until the heart is illumined. It is not a matter of philosophy, but of experience. Through the grace of God the light must first shine in one’s own soul. When that comes to pass, one attains samadhi. Then, though one comes back to the normal plane, one loses the material sense; one loses all attachment to lust and gold. One then loves only to hear and speak the word of God.”
“To reason out the truth of God is one thing,and to meditate on God is another. But again, when illumination comes through the grace of God, then only is the truth of God known and experienced. Just as a dark room is lighted up when you strike a match, so is the heart lighted up by the grace of God. Then alone are all doubts dissolved away.”
The three main schools of thought in Vedanta—dualism, qualified monism, and nondualism—Sri Ramakrisna reconciled in the following manner. Quoting an ancient verse from the Hindu scriptures, he told how Rama, who was worshipped as a divine incarnation, asked his faithful devotee Hanuman how he looked upon him. Hanuman replied: “When I consider myself as a physical being, thou art the master, I am thy servant. When I consider myself as an individual being, thou art the whole, I am one of thy parts. And when I realize myself as the Atman, I am one with thee.” Thus Sri Ramakrisna pointed out that dualism, qualified monism, and nondualism are not mutually exclusive and contradictory concepts but successive steps in realization—the third and last being attained when the I aspirant loses all consciousness of self in union with God.
Thus, in a way more or less peculiar to himself, through attention mainly to the mystic experience, Sri Ramakrisna harmonized conflicting notions of God and the universe and of their relations to each other. But this was not his only way. Another, still more peculiar to him, might be called, in current terms, pragmatic. Any idea of God, any mode of worshipping him that worked—that led the aspirant to the ultimate goal—must be valid and true. But how could one be sure that an idea or a method is really thus effective? Clearly, by trying it oneself. And that, in all simplicity and sincerity, is what Sri Ramakrisna did. He practised the teachings of many divergent sects within Hinduism, and through each of them achieved the same supreme realization. But even this was not sufficient. What of the Mohammedanism that had long been alive in India? What of Christianity? The story of his experimental contacts with these religions we have already told. In the end he arrived at the grand conclusion with which the ancient rsis began, and which we have more than once recalled: Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti—in Sri Ramakrisna’s words, “So many religions, so many paths to reach one and the same goal.”
In defining this goal Sri Ramakrisna was of course at one with all his spiritual ancestors. It was simply to realize God within one’s own soul. Sankaracharya declared that “Study of the scriptures is fruitless so long as Brahman has not been experienced”; and “He is born to no purpose,” says Sri Ramakrisna, “who, having the rare privilege of being born a man, is unable to realize God.” Continuing, Sri Ramakrisna emphasized the importance of means:
“Adopt adequate means for the end you seek to attain. You cannot get butter by crying yourself hoarse, saying, “There is butter in the milk!” If you wish to make butter, you must turn the milk into curd, and churn it well. Then alone you can get butter. So if you long to see God, practise spiritual disciplines. What is the use of merely crying “Lord! Lord!””
To an aspirant who should ask about particular means to adopt, we can easily anticipate Sri Ramakrisna’s answer. Pursue sincerely and diligently any spiritual path, he would say, and you will ultimately achieve realization.
As to what the basic paths are he accepted the Hindu belief that for all religions they can be reduced to the four yogas: jnana yoga, the path of discrimination between the Real and the unreal; bhakti yoga, the path of loving devotion; karma yoga, the path of selfless work; and raja yoga, the path of concentration and meditation. In our study of the Bhagavad-Gita we have seen that Sri Krishna advocated a harmonious combination of all the yogas. The spiritual aspirant should cultivate discrimination and devotion as well as concentration and meditation. Sri Ramakrisna stressed this again and again in his teachings. He did not want anyone to be one-sided.
To be sure, special emphasis should be placed on one or another path according to the temperament of the devotee. Sri Ramakrisna advocated emphasis on jnana yoga, however, only for an exceptional few, pointing out that if this path is followed without the necessary unfoldment of certain virtues, such as dispassion, meditation on the unity of Atman and Brahman will be misunderstood and misapplied. For most spiritual aspirants he recommended emphasis on bhakti yoga, because the path of devotion is a natural one leading to realization. Everyone has love in his heart—it merely needs to be directed towards God; and for a follower of bhakti yoga discrimination, dispassion, and all the other virtues unfold easily and naturally. Sri Ramakrisna used to say: “The more you move towards the light, the farther you will be from darkness.” He told his disciples how he himself prayed for devotion during a period of intense spiritual disciplines:
“O Mother, here is sin and here is virtue; take them both and grant me pure love for thee. Here is knowledge and here is ignorance; I lay them at thy feet. Grant me pure love for thee. Here is purity and here is impurity; take them both and grant me pure love for thee. Here are good works and here are evil works; I lay them at thy feet. Grant me pure love for thee.”
But whatever path the aspirant chiefly follows, according to Sri Ramakrisna, meditation is the most important aspect of his spiritual life. Somehow or other he must keep his mind fixed on God. Meditation is performed not merely with closed eyes but with eyes open as well. There are many ways to meditate and many forms of meditation. For the jnana yogi, for example, there is the meditation on the identity of Atman and Brahman; he tries to live in that identity. There are many means to achieve this end, the one best for a particular aspirant depending on his temperament.
For the bhakti yogi there is meditation on a chosen ideal of God, which may be with or without form. To those who preferred to meditate on God with form, Sri Ramakrisna said:
“Wash away all the impurities of your mind; then let the Lord be seated within the lotus of your heart. Meditate on him as a living presence. Tie your mind to the feet of your Chosen Ideal with a silken thread, but remember not merely to think of him while you are formally meditating: keep recollectedness at other times. Don’t you know that in the shrine of Mother Durga a light burns continually before the image, and the housewife sees to it that the light never goes out? Keep the light of awareness always burning within your heart. Keep your thoughts awake. While engaged in your daily activities, occasionally gaze inward and see if the light is burning.”
To those who preferred to meditate on God in his formless aspect, he said:
“Think of him as an infinite, shoreless ocean. You are like a fish swimming in that ocean of existence, knowledge, and bliss absolute, or like a vessel dipped in it with that Presence inside, outside, and everywhere.”
“Some devotees approach God by going from the aspect without form to that with form; others by going from the aspect with form to that without form. To realize that he is both with form and without form—that is best.”
Two watchwords Sri Ramakrisna set before mankind were renunciation and service.
Spiritual aspirants can follow either the way of the monk or the way of the householder, but renunciation is an ideal which the two ways have in common. The monk’s renunciation must be external, however, as well as mental. The householder renounces mentally.
But what, really, does renunciation mean! It is deification—which means seeing God everywhere and in everything, knowing for oneself the truth expressed in the Isa Upanishad: “In the heart of all things, of whatever there is in the universe, dwells the Lord. He alone is the reality. Wherefore, renouncing vain appearances, rejoice in him.”
Sri Ramakrisna used to tell his householder disciples to live in the world in a spirit of detachment, keeping their minds on God. Gradually they would begin to realize that all objects and persons are parts of him. The aspirant, he said, must serve his parents, his wife, and his children as manifestations of God. He who lives in the world in this manner, renouncing all sense of possession, is the ideal householder. He overcomes all fear of death. But in order to reach this ideal the aspirant must occasionally go into solitude, practise contemplation, and yearn to realize God.
In connection with the ideal of service taught by Sri Ramakrisna, I shall mention a very interesting incident from his life. One day, in a state of ecstasy, he was recalling the precepts of another great saint. One of these preached compassion for mankind. Sri Ramakrisna repeated several times the word compassion. Then he exclaimed: “Compassion! Who am I to be compassionate! Isn’t everyone God? How can I be compassionate towards God? Serve him, serve him, serve him!” In this way Sri Ramakrisna elevated the ideal of philanthropy to the worship of God in every being.
He considered the attainment of liberation for oneself to be a low ideal. Swami Turiyananda, one of his disciples, used to say that nirvana was the highest state of realization and was rebuked for what his master called a “mean conception”. Naren, later known as Swami Vivekananda, one day was asked by Sri Ramakrisna what his ideal was. When Naren answered that he wanted to remain immersed in samadhi and return to normal consciousness only in order to keep his body alive, Sri Ramakrisna exclaimed: “Shame on you! I thought you were greater than that!” And he taught him the twin ideal on which Vivekananda later founded the monastic Order of Ramakrisna: liberation for oneself and service to God in man.
Concerning this same Swami Vivekananda a story is told which illustrates the extraordinary means to which Sri Ramakrisna sometimes resorted in order to advance the spiritual welfare of his disciples. When young Naren first came to Sri Ramakrisna, he was a member of the Brahmo Samaj, an Indian reform movement which believed in the ideal of theism. Recognizing in his new disciple an aspirant with the capacity to follow the difficult path of jnana yoga, Sri Ramakrisna asked him to read treatises on Advaita Vedanta and made him sing a song expressing the nondual conception. Naren complied with his master’s wishes, but he could not accept the doctrine of nondualism, for to him it seemed blasphemous to look on man as one with his Creator. One day he laughingly remarked to a friend: “How impossible! This vessel is God! This cup is God! Whatever we see is God! And we ourselves are God!” At this moment Sri Ramakrisna came out of his room, smiling, and touched Naren. The effect of this touch Naren described as follows:
“That strange touch immediately caused a complete revolution in my mind. Wherever I looked I saw Brahman and Brahman alone. I lived in that consciousness the whole day. I returned home, and that same experience continued. When I sat down to eat I saw that the food, the plate, the server, and I myself—all were Brahman. I took one or two morsels of food and again was absorbed in that consciousness. . . . All the time, whether eating or lying down, or going to college, I had the same experience. While walking in the streets I noticed cabs plying but did not feel inclined to move out of the way. I felt that the cabs and myself were made of the same substance. …. When this state changed a little, the world began to appear to me as a dream. While walking in Cornwallis Square I struck my head against the iron railings to see if they were real or only a dream. After several days, when I returned to the normal plane, I realized that I had had a glimpse of nondual consciousness. Since then I have never doubted the truth of nondualism.”
To sum up the message of Sri Ramakrisna, especially in its relation to practice, we perhaps could do no better than quote the following words of the distinguished swami to whom we have just listened:
“Do not depend on doctrines, do not depend on dogmas, or sects, or churches, or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in man, which is divine; and the more this divinity is developed in a man, the more powerful is he for good. Earn that spirituality first, acquire that, and criticize no one, for all doctrines and creeds have some good in them. Show by your lives that religion does not mean words, or names, or sects, but that it means spiritual realization. Only those can understand who have perceived the Reality. Only those who have attained to spirituality can communicate it to others, can be great teachers of mankind. They alone are the powers of light.”
SELECTED PRECEPTS OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA
- Know yourself and you will know God. What is your ego? Is it your hand or foot or flesh or blood or any other part of your body? Reflect well and you will find that the ego has no real existence. Just as, if you peel off the skin of an onion layer after layer, in search of a kernel, for a while more and more skin appears, and then nothing at all, so it is if you go looking for the ego. There is no kernel within the onion; there is no ego within yourself. In the last analysis what is within you is only the Atman—Pure Conscious ness. When the illusion of the ego disappears, then appears the Reality—God.
- There are two kinds of ego—one ripe, and the other unripe. The unripe ego thinks, “This is my house, my son, my this, my that.” The ripe ego thinks, “I am the servant of the Lord, I am his child; I am the Atman, immortal, free; I am Pure Consciousness.”
The light of the sun shines equally on all surfaces, but it reflects clearly only on bright surfaces like water, mirrors, and polished metals. In like manner, although God dwells in the hearts of all, he is clearly manifest only in the hearts of the holy. - How long does one argue about the meaning of the scriptures? Only until the Sat-chid-ananda becomes revealed in one’s own heart. The bee buzzes only so long as it does not sit on the flower. As soon as it sits on the flower and begins to drink of the honey, all noise stops—there is complete silence.
- Useless is the study of the scriptures if one has no discrimination and dispassion. One cannot find God unless one is endowed with these. Discrimination is knowledge of what is eternal and what is non-eternal, and devotion to the eternal, which is God; it is knowledge that the Atman is separate from the body. Dispassion is nonattachment to the objects of sense.
- The true hero is he who can discipline his mind by devotional exercises while living in the world. A strong man can look in any direction while carrying a heavy burden on his head. Similarly, the perfect man can keep his gaze constantly fixed on God while carrying the burden of worldly duties.
- A boy holds on to a pillar and circles round it with headlong speed. While he is spinning, his attention is constantly fixed on the pillar. He knows that if he lets go his hold upon it he will fall and hurt himself. Similarly, the wise householder holds on to the pillar of God: keeps his mind fixed on him, and performs his worldly duties. Thus is he free from all dangers.
- Let the boat stay on the water: there is no harm. But let not water get into the boat, lest the boat sink. Similarly, there is no harm if the devotee lives in the world, provided he lets not worldliness enter his mind.
- Clay in its natural state can be moulded into any form, but burnt clay cannot. Similarly, spiritual truths cannot be impressed upon hearts that have been burnt by the fire of lust.
To bring one’s heart and one’s speech into accord is the goal of all spiritual discipline. If you say, “O Lord, Thou art my all in all,” while in your heart you believe the objective world to be all In all, your devotional exercises are bound to be fruitless. - Countless are the pearls lying hidden in the sea. If a single dive yields you none, do not conclude that the sea is without pearls. Similarly, if after practising spiritual disciplines for a little while you fail to have the vision of God, do not lose heart. Continue to practise the disciplines with patience, and at the proper time you are sure to obtain grace.
- Strike a match, and the light disperses all at once the darkness of a room, even though accumulated for centuries. Similarly, a single gracious glance of the Lord disperses the accumulated sins of innumerable births.
- The magnetic needle always points towards the north, whatever the direction in which the ship is sailing; that is why the ship does not lose her course. Similarly, if the mind of man is always turned towards God, he will steer clear of every danger.
- There is only one God, but endless are his aspects and endless are his names. Call him by any name and worship him in any aspect that pleases you, you are sure to see him.
You see many stars in the sky at night, but nor when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not there is no God. - He is born in vain, who having attained the human birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realize God in this very life. Seekest thou God ? Then seek Him in man ! His Divinity is manifest more in man than in any other object. Man is the greatest manifestation of God.
- Jiva is Shiva (all living beings are God). Who then dare talk of showing mercy to them? Not mercy, but service, service. For man must be regarded as God.
- There is one whom you may call your own, and that is God.
- I tell you the truth : there is nothing wrong in your being in the world. But you must direct your mind towards God.
- If you say, 'I am a sinner', eternally, you will remain a sinner to all eternity. You ought rather to repeat, 'I am not bound, I am not bound. Who can bind me ? I am the son of God, the king of kings.'
- It is said that truthfulness alone constitutes the spiritual discipline of the Kaliyuga (i.e. modern age). If a man clings tenaciously to truth he ultimately realizes God.
- All religions are true. God can be reached by different religions. Many rivers flow by many ways but they fall into the sea. There all are one.
- A truly religious man should think that other religions also are paths leading to truth. We should always maintain an attitude of respect towards other religions.
- Women whether naturally good or not, whether chaste or unchaste, should always be regarded as images of the Blissful Divine Mother.
- Money can fetch you bread alone. Do not consider it as your sole end and aim.
- He is truly a man to whom money is only a servant; but, on the other hand, those who do not know how to make a proper use of it, hardly deserve to be called men.
- To become great one must be humble. The tree laden with fruit always bends low. So if you wish to be great, be lowly and meek.
- Rain water never stands on high ground, but runs down to the lowest level. So also the mercy of God remains in the hearts of the lowly, but drains off from those of the vain and the proud.
The ego that asserts, 'I am the servant of God' is the characteristic of the true devotee. It is the ego of Vidya (Knowledge), and is called the 'ripe' ego. - Wherein is the strength of a devotee? He is a child of God, and his devotional tears are his mightiest weapon.
- Look at the anvil of a blacksmith-how it is hammered and beaten; yet it moves not from its place. Let men learn patience and endurance from it.
- Visit not miracle-mongers and those who exhibit occult powers. These men are stragglers from the path of Truth.
- Don't find fault with anyone, not even with an insect. As you pray to God for devotion, so also pray that you may not find fault with anyone.
- Purify the spectacles of your mind and you will see that the world is God.
- As the dawn heralds the rising sun, so sincerity, unselfishness, purity, and righteousness precede the advent of the Lord.
- Every man should follow his own religion. A Christian should follow Christianity, and a Mohammedan Mohammedanism. For the Hindu, the ancient path, the path of the Aryan Rishis, is the best.
- Dispute not. As you rest firmly in your own faith and opinion, allow others also equal liberty to stand by their own faith and opinion.
- Let me be condemned to be born over and over again, even in the form of a dog, if so I can be of help to a single soul.
- I will give up twenty thousand such bodies to help one man. It is glorious to help even one man.
Early Life
Sri Sarada Devi (1853-1920), the divine consort of Sri Ramakrishna, is known to millions of devotees as The Holy Mother. Born of poor but pious parents on December 22, 1853, in an obscure village named Jayarambati in the district of Bankura (West Bengal) and bred in that simple country atmosphere, she was married to Sri Ramakrishna at the early age of six. The Holy Mother had the chance of coming in close contact with Sri Ramakrishna only about 1867, long after her marriage. Sri Ramakrishna took her under his tutelage and by degrees lovingly imparted to her a thorough knowledge of human character and taught her how to live in complete resignation to God. He literally worshipped her as the Divine Mother and saying that she and Mother Kali in the temple were one and the same, awakened in her the sense of motherhood towards all creatures.