Friends,
An excerpt from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:
On his way to Dakshineswar from Keshab's cottage Sri Ramakrishna stopped at Jaygopal
Sen's house. It was about seven o'clock in the evening.
In the drawing-room, Jaygopal's relatives and neighbours had gathered. Vaikuntha,
Jaygopal's brother, said to the Master: "Sir, we are worldly people. Please give us some
advice."
Advice to the worldly-minded
MASTER: "Do your duty to the world after knowing God. With one hand hold to the Lotus
Feet of the Lord and with the other do your work."
VAIKUNTHA: "Is the world unreal?"
MASTER: "Yes, it is unreal as long as one has not realized God. Through ignorance man
forgets God and speaks always of 'I' and 'mine'. He sinks down and down, entangled in
maya, deluded by 'woman and gold'. Maya robs him of his knowledge to such an extent that
he cannot find the way of escape, though such a way exists.
"Listen to a song:
When such delusion veils the world, through Mahamaya's spell,
That Brahma is bereft of sense
And Vishnu loses consciousness,
What hope is left for men? . .
"You all know from your experience how impermanent the world is. Look at it this way.
How many people have come into the world and again passed away! People are born and
they die. This moment the world is and the next it is not. It is impermanent. Those you
think to be your very own will not exist for you when you close your eyes in death. Again,
you see people who have no immediate relatives, and yet for the sake of a grandson they
will not go to Benares to lead a holy life. 'Oh, what will become of my Haru then?' they
argue.:
The narrow channel first is made, and there the trap is set;
But open though the passage lies,
The fish, once safely through the gate,
Do not come out again.
Yet even though a way leads forth,
Encased within its own cocoon,
The worm remains to die.
This kind of world is illusory and impermanent."
A NEIGHBOUR: "Why, sir, should one hold to God with one hand and to the world with
the other? Why should one even stretch out one hand to hold to the world, if it is
impermanent?"
MASTER: "The world is not impermanent if one lives there after knowing God. Listen to
another song:
O mind, you do not know how to farm!
Fallow lies the field of your life.
If you had only worked it well,
How rich a harvest you might reap!
Hedge it about with Kali's name
If you would keep your harvest safe;
This is the stoutest hedge of all,
For Death himself cannot come near it. . . .
"Did you listen to the song?
Hedge it about with Kali's name
If you would keep your harvest safe.
Surrender yourself to God and you will achieve everything.
This is the stoutest hedge of all,
For Death himself cannot come near it.
Ideal householder's life
"Yes, it is a strong hedge indeed. If you but, realize God, you won't see the world as
unsubstantial. He who has realized God knows that God Himself has become the world and
all living beings. When you feed your child, you should feel that you are feeding God. You
should look on your father and mother as veritable manifestations of God and the Divine
Mother, and serve them as such. If a man enters the world after realizing God, he does not
generally keep up physical relations with his wife. Both of them are devotees; they love to
talk only of God and pass their time in spiritual conversation. They serve other devotees of
God, for they know that God alone has become all living beings; and, knowing this, they
devote their lives to the service of others."
Namaskar.
