Are you the body and mind? Wait. II GO FORWARD SELECTIONS ( Part III) II And by accepting Sri Ramakrishna as your Chosen Ideal,

This body exists for His sake; this mind exists for His sake. An expectant mother takes great care of her body in order to protect the child in her womb. Similarly, you should feel that Sri Ramakrishna dwells within your body and that whatever endeavors you undertake are all for his sake alone. “If I do anything well, he enjoys it; if I do anything bad, that also he enjoys.”

As long as one has a body, there is no escaping the hand of misery and danger. Therefore, pray earnestly to him that, no matter how much suffering he gives you, he may also give you the power to endure it.

He is all-pervading, of the nature of pure consciousness. He has created a body through which he spreads the news, like a megaphone, teaching us how human beings can make their lives blessed.

If you can intellectually understand the statement, “I am not the body,” then you will understand the deeper meaning of the ceremonial rites of sannyasa.

The devotees of Sri Ramakrishna will quickly rise above this creation and go to Ramakrishna Loka in a body made of pure consciousness and permanently dwell there.

If you constantly think about Thakur, you will surely remember him at the time of death. Then nothing will keep you from going to Ramakrishna Loka after the fall of the body. We need do nothing other than think of Thakur.

Do some exercise so that your body becomes fit for all types of work, and learn the basic principles of physiology from the doctors. …But the human body does not become fit for work merely by making the muscles strong through exercise. Often even strong people are very lazy. So keep the body engaged in various kinds of activities and all the parts of the body full of vigor. Thakur and Mother were able to work ceaselessly, just as they could remain immersed in samadhi.

In olden days, people practiced hatha yoga in order to fully awaken the vital power residing in the body. Swami Vivekananda has now introduced a method of accomplishing the same thing through work.

There is so much grandeur, so much joy in this human body. Simply by knowing this, much suffering will be removed. The Lord has assumed a human body in the form of Sri Ramakrishna, and by doing so, has glorified the human body.

First, pay attention to the body so that it may be fit for spiritual practice.

The world is the body of God. He himself has become everything. That is why, wherever you may be, in whatever condition, at whatever condition, at whatever time, remember that you are with Him and be free from anxiety.

There is only one job - however, you may achieve it – and that is to eradicate the identification of the Self with the body. Discrimination, devotion, and meditation – by means of these three you must cast off the identification of the Self with the body. You must renounce this identification with the body by making your mind free from desires, in all your actions and in all your thoughts. You must purify the intellect so that this identification with the body may disappear. This is the real thing. All else is useless babbling.

The outer environment is the same for everyone. Even the Jnani is no better than the animal with regard to his knowledge of the body. But he can separate himself from his body, and we cannot.

Body and mind

Your only duty is to awaken the prana residing in your body and mind. This task is easily accomplished by meditating on Thakur and Swami Vivekananda.

‘The body and the mind are mere instruments.’ If you firmly grasp this idea, then your work will be much easier. Those who think of themselves as the body and mind are afraid to put themselves on the carver’s table. They are afraid that much of their identity will be lost. But unless you firmly smooth out the irregularities of your body and mind, you won’t be able to build up your life according to the model. That is why you must objectify your body and mind.

He has come himself. We have no reason to worry about victory or defeat. We should engage this worthless body and mind in his work and attain immortality. We will get gold in exchange for glass.

You must thoroughly examine the instruments of your body, mind, and intellect. You must determine just how much spiritual discipline your body and mind are capable of performing in order to attain perfect knowledge, and then fully devote your life to this task.

In time this outer layer of the body and mind will fall off by itself, your prarabdha karma will exhaust itself, and you will experience perfect peace. That is why Thakur himself said that those who were in their last birth would come to him.

To keep one’s body and mind engaged in the service of Ramakrishna and to think of his lotus feet all the time – this is our primary sadhana.

Our goal is to eliminate the guna of rajas from the body and mind and immerse ourselves in the thought of Him. Read a little from the sixth chapter of the Gita. You will achieve everything if you so desire.

Are you the body and mind? Wait. One day you will suddenly run to Thakur, laughing loudly. Wait for a little.

Go on doing your work, and let the body and mind do theirs. The truth of the matter is, no matter how much you think of God, you will also have to constantly think of yourself as being beyond the body and mind. You will have to forcibly withdraw your mind for ten or fifteen minutes a day. You will have to understand through analyzing that “I don’t do anything at all” “I am not responsible for the activities of the body and mind”. Unless one becomes firmly established in this idea through discrimination, he will have to remain occupied his whole life with the body and mind.”

First, meditate on yourself as heat permeating the lungs. Then when this meditation matures a little, think of yourself as a net covering the heart. Next, keep yourself confined to the empty space within the heart. If you practice these three meditations for some time, you will now and then feel yourself separate from the body and mind.

The solution of all the problems of life lies in the strong desire to be free from desires to enjoy this world through body and mind. Please read and think over the first verse of the sixth chapter of the Gita.

The problem of body and mind is the same for the sannyasi as for the householder; only the path to the solution is different. Unless one clings to the feet of the Lord, there will be no escape, no matter where one may be.

Bondage

Our job is to go forward, to seek the company of those who have gone forward and to leave behind those who are overcome by doubts, to tear asunder the net of bondage and break free, swiftly leaping over the ‘gutters’ and ‘ditches’ of spiritual practices. Our main Mantra is Go Forward.

You still haven’t been able to understand what has happened. By giving up hearth and home, you have cast of your bondage. And by accepting Sri Ramakrishna as your Chosen Ideal, you have severed the remaining half.

The mind alone is bondage; the mind alone is Maya. When the mind is bound, one is bound to the world. If you can make the mind desireless, it will run away – it becomes destroyed. In this age, the best spiritual practice is to think of Sri Ramakrishna. He is the incarnation of the age.

We have really become bound by the magic of the magician. As soon as we try to break the bondage, Mahamaya places various kinds of obstacles before us. Whoever can clear all these hurdles will become free.

If you can destroy your bondage to yourself and the external world, your true nature will manifest itself.

Only when I try to help others, looking upon them as my very Self, do I become free from the bondage of affection.

Book

Unless you read the scriptures in their original form, you will not develop a clear idea about Indian culture. That is why you will have to study some Sanskrit books when you get the opportunity.

1. Swamiji’s books are an ocean of knowledge.
2. You should very carefully read Raja Yoga above all other books
3. You should read Swamiji’s books to sharpen your intellect.

You should read Swamiji’s book in solitude. For example, read the English version of Karma Yoga repeatedly and with deep attention until you have mastered everything in it. In the letters of Swamiji, you will find the idea of the Mission, the method of work, and many other things very clearly expressed. You should read Swamiji’s books The East and the West, Memoirs of European Travel, and Modern India again and again.

One should study the appropriate books daily in order to enhance one’s knowledge of the philosophy of his own sangha. It is necessary to study scriptures to understand the ideas presented in the books of the sangha.

There is no book like the Gita - none is better. Only the Gita can shed light on all aspects of human life. The Kathamrita is a commentary on the Gita. The speaker is both is the Lord himself.

Whenever you get time, read some books.

You should regularly read Swamiji’s books, especially his letters. Swamiji has placed a very great responsibility on your shoulders.

Many people have bought the books (Swamiji's works), and more will do so. Some read them casually for a few days and then keep silent. We find in these two volumes the purpose of Thakur’s advent, the philosophical meaning behind it, its historical development, and other essential facts. You must read them. If you want to know the religious views of our organization, read these very carefully; read every sentence, every word carefully.

Always try to read spiritual books concerning the inner life whenever you get a chance.

Read holy books, hymns, and prayers that are in keeping with your own spiritual practice. These represent one part of your sadhana. Even though studying the scriptures is a part of spiritual practice, too much reading can create problems. Therefore, you should not devote excessive time to scriptural study. You must pay particular attention to meditation, Japa and the like.

Spend your time studying the Gita, Upanishads, and Ramakrishna literature; don’t pay attention to any other books.

Are you regularly reading books on Thakur? If you constantly think about Thakur, you will surely remember him at the time of death. Then nothing will keep you from going to Ramakrishna Loka after the fall of the body. We need do nothing other than think of Thakur.