GO FORWARD SELECTIONS (Part IV ) II "The Lord says, “He who wants Me, gets Me."

GO FORWARD

SELECTIONS

Brahmacharya

If you can maintain your health and follow your vows of Brahmacharya, you will attain him on the very day you “take your seat”.

Concentration

One who is unable to perform all types of work with full concentration will only get his brain heated by practicing – or he may gain some prestige for being a spiritual seeker - that is all.

Contemplation

Happy to learn that you are spending your time in the recollection and contemplation of Thakur. We feel much joy when we hear that someone is thinking of God. Moreover, if one meditates on the new form which God has assumed for the removal of our sufferings that will lead to the welfare of oneself and the whole world.

Contentment

We know about the four paths designed to bring contentment in life:

Remaining engrossed in working for the welfare of others; trying to become a “philanthropist” or “patriot”
Striving to live in service and worship of God, observing religious celebrations, and meditating and reflecting on the Lord;
Living a life devoted to knowledge and discrimination, of the scriptures, and so on;
oneself to the practice of Yoga.
of a monk can be spent very well in this way. Even in the householder, these four paths are absolutely necessary. must consider very carefully what you have to do in order your life peaceful, and then immediately direct your body to a single, well-defined path.

Death

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 to do nothing other than think of Thakur.

Desire

Unless we are absorbed in His thought, unless we have the desire to give up this world, we shall try to hang on to it on the pretext of fulfilling various duties.

After finishing the work here, we shall all meet in Ramakrishna Loka. Until then no one has a vacation. Just as “ greens are not to be considered greens”, so also the desire for Ramakrishna Loka is not to be considered a desire.

You will have to decide later what you want and what you don’t want. The mind becomes irritated and restless when we finally get what we thought we wanted earlier. This is life. When you give up all desires, you become free.

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. You must feel the same desire and sense of urgency in your heart that you do when you are hungry or thirsty. Otherwise, you won’t achieve anything.

You have renounced the world and taken shelter in “ Loka”. Now if you don’t make progress in the spiritual life, Thakur alone is to blame. …Have patience. You will definitely get what you want. If your desire is not realized, standing at the base of the wish-fulfilling tree - Ramakrishna – where else will it be realized? There is no other way but to wait patiently. Read Raja Yoga and you will see that if you practice uninterruptedly for a long time and with great faith, the foundation will become firm. You have taken shelter at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. That is a sign of great good fortune. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed.

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.

Under the influence of various desires, we have experienced so much suffering by being born again and again in various places. This time all suffering will end. You are trying to do whatever you can. So why do you worry? Leave all your worries aside and pray to Thakur to remove all these bad dreams. He is the Lord of the universe. Everything is happening by his will. How could he make mistakes? I tell you that everything is going along correctly. It is only because of ignorance that we get worried.

Our only desire should be to immerse ourselves in the sea of Thakur ’s. If we remember his divine play in the midst of all our activities and at all times, there will be no more fear of our peace of mind being disturbed.

If you acquire the firm conviction that “I am not the body, prana, mind, or intellect – I am only their witness who has forgotten his real nature through delusion and thus considers external things, the body and the like, to be the real ‘I’,” then great faith will come and you will develop the desire to call on Thakur.

Name and form are indeed unreal. If you eliminate name and form, one pure unmixed, unmoving reality remains in which there can be no question of desire.

Sri Ramakrishna understood himself to be that reality. Whenever he liked, he could remove the veil of, ascend to that higher region and dwell in the state. He lifted some of his beloved disciples onto his lap and showed them that higher region as well. But no one wants to give up this world of desires and go to that realm. Most people have a desire for the subtle regions at most, heavens such as Vishnu and the like. That is why they suffer so much over and over again.

To make the mind free from desire is the aim of all spiritual practice.

There is no action which is free from desire. As we gradually advance, a time comes when we have no desire to enjoy anything of the world. Then whatever action we perform is desireless action. In order to hasten the “evolution of the human self”, we must think about the ideal. We have a divine amulet – the life of Ramakrishna-which destroys all afflictions. This is the only medicine we know. You must take it regularly. There is no need for a special diet or other things with this medicine. So take it.

When the waves of the mind are stilled, this visible universe ceases to exist. And when you remove the ‘lid’ from the mind, the entire universe is reflected in the and creates various desires.

But once one has heard that “beautiful boy” sing in the mango grove of Kamarpukur in his sweet voice, he will have no desire to hear anything else. If but once he smiles and speaks, one loses the desire to gaze upon any other face. Have you heard about that smile from revered Sarat Maharaj or read about it in Pratap Mazumdar’s book? That wonderful “humanlike” being, with nothing beyond him, nothing inside or outside of him, was playing like a naked child on the beach by the infinite, fathomless ocean, when he had the desire to swim in the Haldar pond of Kamarpukur. Such sweetness in the form of a drop of that ocean! In the presence of his divine words, where is scripture, where is?

We are all afraid of going alone. We have no desire to go at all. So, Thakur has himself come, together with his colossal army, to take us away.

Hidden within this universe there is another, subtle universe. There gods and goddesses dwell. They give blessings and help to those individuals who are free from desires.

Detachment

To keep detachment hidden in the heart and to be continually engaged in work – that is our ideal.

Determination

If you remain silent, you will have to suffer through your fate. But if you work hard with determination and self-effort, your present karma can dominate your past karma.

Devotees

There is no other way than to experience the results of action which have already begun to bear fruit. But when this life is finished, he will give shelter to all the devotees. "There is no space for any uncertainty about this… ." Sri Ramakrishna used to become restless and call for his devotees to come.

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.

The purpose of the Ramakrishna Mission is to give spiritual seekers the scope to practice the four paths of jnana, karma, yoga bhakti. Whoever practices these four sadhanas, no matter where or under what circumstances, is Thakur’s real devotee.

We have noticed that Sri Ramakrishna has become the latest fad in our country. The average person always reacts in this way. But we are not looking for devotees of the “person” named Ramakrishna. We want those who are truthful, who have controlled their senses, and who will work for the welfare of others.

Unless you ceaselessly think of him, deeply and for a long time, you will not feel any attraction for him. Whatever small attraction we see comes from the belief that we belong to the “Ramakrishna circle of devotees” and he is the “group leader”. That is the only reason we call on him.

Devotion

When sitting for your daily devotions, first spend a little time letting your mind roam about every corner of the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple. Or mentally wander through Belur Math and circumambulate the temple. If you do this for some time, your mind will run toward Thakur. There is no limit to Thakur’s . One can spend a lot of time just thinking about his divine sport. If your mind does not become even through this, then enter Thakur’s room at Dakshineshwar, set up the table there, and play the game with Thakur, Narendra, Rakhal, Vishuddhananda, Premeshananda, and other members of the family!

Through the blessings of the guru, you have become a . Throw away the dust and ashes of this world and gather the jewels of devotion. Think of Thakur in the midst of your work.

To earn one rupee, the sweat of one’s brow must fall to the ground. To earn devotion one requires even harder . Only after knowing someone do we feel an attraction for him, and without this attraction, we cannot have any real acquaintance with him.

Discrimination

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.”

Just as the gymnasts practice in the gymnasium and create “nerves of steel and muscles of iron,” so too will you, in the ashrama of the sannyasi, have to cut through the net of the world with the help of razor-sharp discrimination and intelligence. Take a passionate stand on this subject. If you run here and there without taking care of the house, in you’ll starve to death. We have to keep the fire of burning in our hearts, and we have to keep the fire bright by adding the firewood of, manana.

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. Sannyasa is meant for the experience of this truth alone. For those who have never thought about this question, their sannyasa is meaningless. Some, perhaps, look upon sannyasa as a kind of “promotion” Therefore, reasoning and discrimination are the chief refuges for those who enter the sannyasa stage of life.

Unless one is established in (the practice of devotion), he won’t like the path of knowledge and discrimination.

To protect the glory of the life of sannyasa, and to increase one’s devotion to Ramakrishna, between the five sheaths is absolutely necessary.

It is absolutely impossible to proceed along this path without a strong intellect and tremendous will power. One must first understand with the help of a keen sense of discrimination that all the things of the world are “rejectable”. Then one must rush toward the inner world with great force.

When discrimination fully matures, meditation becomes easy. So whenever you get the chance, practice this discrimination, looking upon consciousness itself as the ruler.

Doubt

Sri Ramakrishna, the creator, sustainer destroyer of this world and the one, non-dual ocean of love, dwells within you and me. There is not the slightest doubt about it.

No matter how much you may love him, he loves you many times more. There is no reason to doubt this.

If you keep the idea of a realized soul, established in wisdom, before you and put that idea into practice in your own lives, you will also become established in wisdom. Once you attain that state you will not have any doubts about what is and what is not.

If your minds become absorbed in the thought of Thakur, he will himself solve all your problems – there is no doubt about it.

Mother Sarada is sitting in our hearts can be proven beyond any doubt through Vedantic analysis. Then you will feel great strength in calling on Mother; you will develop to work hard for others; your mind will always remain filled with joy, contentment, and love.

Be free from doubt. Be free from worry and fear. Thakur, Ma, and the whole Ramakrishna clan are all with us. Think about these things for some time both day and night.

Now give up all desires, give up all doubts, and offer yourself at the feet of the son of Kshudiram of Kamarpukur… Let the happiness and misery of the external world remain outside, and let your inner world be flooded with the love of Ramakrishna.

When we hear all these pleas for blessings and grace, it creates doubts in our minds as to whether or not the traveler really wants to follow the path.

Duty

What is “his duty”? He is only a fun-loving, mischievous young boy! What duty could he possibly have? Whoever loves him will be happy. He doesn’t care about work and the like.

He has advised us to perform one task alone. And that task brings great joy – to think of His form, His qualities, and His real nature. If we can do that, there is no other duty we have to perform. He does everything.

People call on God once, hold fast to Him, and again give Him up. There is no steadfastness in our minds at all. But once the Lord gives someone shelter, He never abandons him. Only after giving him supreme peace is His duty finished. We have received shelter at His feet; He will direct us along the right path. We have no faith, but He is faithful.

To remain in any condition Thakur places you at any time, like the used leaf-plate blown by the wind, is itself a type of spiritual practice. Therefore, your duty is to follow the instructions of your seniors, rather than whatever ideas arise in your mind.

Our main duty is to purify our body, mind, and intellect by constantly thinking of God. Try to understand this point very clearly.

Now 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.

Swamiji has laid the foundation for human life on truth. We are going from truth to truth. He has saved humanity by rescuing the Vedas. Our duty now is to make it possible for all people in all countries to learn this truth.

Ego

The first thing to consider is forbearance and the renunciation of egotism. You want to realize the Creator of this world by renouncing the world, isn’t that so? In that case, you will have to give up both the joys and sorrows of the world. One who shrinks away when there is the need to endure a little suffering should live at home. Forbearance is primary and indispensable support for one on this path. Furthermore, the renunciation of egotism is real renunciation. Those who cherish the absurd desire to cling to the distinctions of family, caste, learning, and intelligence belong in a madhouse.

Our Holy Mother has wonderfully demonstrated all aspects of the ‘ripe ego’. Spiritual souls, such as Sri Ramakrishna’s direct disciples, Gopaler-Ma and others, are examples of the fullest manifestation of the potential of human life. We should pass our days thinking about their holy lives and deeds.

It is this ego-sense which realizes God, attains samadhi, and returns from samadhi. This is why Thakur used to say, “He is within the grasp of the pure intellect.”

Evil

Thakur came to preserve righteousness and destroy evil. How long he will take in this destruction of evil, I do not know. But since the Lord of the world has descended to earth, there is no reason to worry. If we devote ourselves to the work of his mission, our lives will be blessed.

Experience

We can only experience our own karma by ourselves. If after calling on the Lord, He becomes pleased, then we can escape from the clutches of karma. Govinda is very near. Pray to Him constantly.

The Eternal Dancer, the creator of all beauty, stands behind all experience of form, taste, smell, touch, and sound. Open your inner eye, my boy, and be blessed by seeing it!

To think that the infinite Lord takes the form of a tiny human being! And we are the most fortunate, the wealthiest, the most respected, the happiest of all the people of the world. We have taken shelter at His feet; we belong to His circle; we are thus the highest of all the creatures in the world. We shall only experience the fruits of past action for ten or twelve years. Then we shall have endless bliss and eternal peace.

There is no other way than to experience the results of action which have already begun to bear fruit. But when this life is finished, he will give shelter to all the devotees. There is no space for any uncertainty about this… Sri Ramakrishna used to become restless and call for his devotees to come. His heart would melt at the suffering of the afflicted. Has he now become hard-hearted and merciless? Does he no longer hear our cry? You have witnessed instances of his boundless grace at every step. Now give up all desires, give up all doubts, and offer yourself at the feet of the son of Kshudiram of Kamarpukur… Let the happiness and misery of the external world remain outside, and let your inner world be flooded with the love of Ramakrishna.

Faith

"This is the sure truth: "The sun goes on for all days, the mists for however a couple." "Dependably have confidence, O my psyche."You will certainly succeed.” Don’t be discouraged. There is a bright light before us, Sri Ramakrishna’s holy feet. Let the mind be restless; let it be unsteady; let it do whatever it pleases. But don’t give up the ship. The highest ideal of self-sacrifice is before you. Defeats again and again – let that not scare you.

We have passed through hundreds of births engaged in worldly pursuits. It is not possible for us to steady our minds and fix our thoughts on Ramakrishna in just a few years. You must struggle wholeheartedly with great zeal for a long time. Otherwise, you won’t see any results and you will get completely discouraged. But Sri Ramakrishna is our support. We have summoned up our courage through our faith in him and are treading this difficult path. The farther we travel, the more we see the proof of his grace. Go forward without fear. That blessed day is very near!

If you practice sadhana uninterruptedly for a long time and with great faith, the foundation will become firm. You have taken shelter at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. That is a sign of great good fortune. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed.

All that you need are faith and courage – nothing else is necessary. “Mother is with you, so have no fear.” If you only understand these words, all your problems would surely be solved.

People call on God once, holds fast to Him, and again give Him up. There is no steadfastness in our minds at all. But once the Lord gives someone shelter, He never abandons him. Only after giving him supreme peace is His duty finished. We have received shelter at His feet; He will direct us along the right path. We have no faith, but He is faithful.

Believe that you are the unborn, unchanging Self. Have faith. You need to do anything else.

Have you no faith in the words of the Lord? If you remain intoxicated in the thought of the Lord, then will he not keep his promise when he says that he will ‘carry your yoga-’? In order to safeguard your spiritual life, will he not be capable of performing the very ordinary task of maintaining your parents…If one seeks God, tell me, who has the power to stop him? All the powers of the universe will be compelled to help you. If you can offer your heart and soul at the feet of the Lord, all miseries of your parents and relatives will vanish.

Fear

The farther we travel, the more we see the proof of his grace. Go forward without fear. That blessed day is very near!

You have given up the world to become fearless. Then why are you still afraid? 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.

The Lord says, “He who wants Me, gets Me. He who doesn’t want my dances to the tune of the five elements.” This is the last word in spiritual life. If the seeker of wisdom and liberation understands this, there is no fear of his losing his way.

If you hold on to him like the baby monkey, there is every fear that you may fall. If Thakur is holding you, as the mother cat holds on to her kittens, there is no fear of falling. And if by chance you do fall, we will catch you from below and keep you from hitting the ground.

If you make these seven truths shine day and night in the firmament of your heart, like the seven stars of the constellation Saptarshi, you will have no reason to fear – know this for certain.

to time, place, and person.
an unpleasant truth.
The body is the primary instrument for the attainment of Dharma”
If the wife dies, let the undertaker worry about it.” [“Don’t cry over spilled milk.”]
whatever is good for himself. Don’t do anything this.
Brahman is real. The world is unreal. There is no one in the world to very own.
Love, love that is our only wealth.

You are seeing so much; you are hearing so much. Still, it seems, you do not believe. Be free from doubt. Be free from worry and fear. Thakur, Ma, and the whole Ramakrishna clan are all with us. Think about these things for some time both day and night.

If one holds fast to Him, he has nothing to fear in the life to come.

Renunciation alone is fearless. Go forward! Weakness, fear, terror, all will be consumed in the fire of renunciation. Go forward – there is nothing to fear.

Dye your mind and intellect the color of Ramakrishna. Whatever you do, think of it all as service of Sri Ramakrishna and thereby convert mere karma into yoga. Keep your mind established in yoga by remembering the name of Ramakrishna while coming and going, getting up and sitting down. Think of Sri Ramakrishna day and night and go forward on that path of sadhana. There is no reason for sorrow or fear.

Food

Much of one’s efficiency in work depends upon food. This principle is still not understood in India. Here everything is “spiritual”! Pay close attention to your food.

Freedom

To gain freedom – complete freedom – one must struggle unto death.

Remember Sri Ramakrishna and take refuge at his feet. To remember his means to reflect on his state of freedom.

Goal

Thakur has simply told us, “Go Forward.”. The advancement of the body, mind, and intellect is our goal.

You must consider – what is the goal of your life? Perfect wisdom, knowledge of Brahman, faith, and devotion, the attainment of Ramakrishna Loka, the realization of your identity with Ramakrishna - which among all these goals do you want? What practices do you want to resort to for realizing your goal? Do you want to follow the path of knowledge, action, devotion, or meditation? Or will you follow the ideal of Swami Vivekananda and practice harmony of all paths?

Thakur is beyond this world, beyond the body, mind, and intellect. By giving up all these, we can attain him. These things are ceaselessly trying to drive us mad. And when we become mad we remain busy with them alone. So those who want to go near Thakur must be very cautious regarding these things. Our goal is to eliminate the guna of rajas from the body and mind and immerse ourselves in the thought of Him.

through the study of scriptures and the practice of discrimination, you can ascertain the goal of life, everything will go smoothly.

Don’t forget him amidst all your work and thousands of worries. You have made him your goal of life.

Listen, my dear young friend, in the garden of man “full many a flower is born to blush unseen”. Only those flowers which are plucked by the priests and offered at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna have achieved their goal, the rest have lived in vain.

To gain Self-knowledge is our life’s goal, and the ideals of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swamiji are our only support.

Whatever work we may do, our only goal is to make Sri Ramakrishna happy.

We shall all blossom. Those who “have arrived” will surely reach the goal. But they must remain steadfast, doing battle with lust, laziness, and desires.

In we will have to go on running and accept one beating after another in hopes of reaching that goal; there is no other way.

Thakur came for the protection of the good and the destruction of the evil. We cannot understand how long that destruction of the evil will take, but since the Master of the world has come, there is no reason for us to feel anxious. Our goal is to make our lives blessed by engaging ourselves in the work of his mission.

Grace

Sri Ramakrishna is our support. We have summoned up our courage through our faith in him and are treading this difficult path. The farther we travel, the more we see the proof of his grace. Go forward without fear. That blessed day is very near!

Sri Ramakrishna used to become restless and call for his devotees to come. His heart would melt at the suffering of the afflicted. Has he now become hard-hearted and merciless? Does he no longer hear our cry? You have witnessed instances of his boundless grace at every step.

Your own desire is more important than our blessings when it comes to your life in the image of Thakur. When we hear all these pleas for blessings and grace, it creates doubts in our minds as to whether or not the traveler really wants to follow the path.

Happiness

Happiness is within. We experience this inner joy when some beautiful external object stimulates it. But the yogi experiences the bliss within by separating the Self from the complex of the body, mind, intellect, and ego, and in this way becomes content in the Self alone. The outer environment is the same for everyone. Even the 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. Therefore, whenever you get the opportunity, fix your mind on the point of light within your heart so that you may hold onto the Self, the source of all joy and strength. Otherwise, sorrows and joys, both large and small, will not decrease in the least.

Once the play of the world is completed, there will be neither happiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Eternal, infinite bliss alone will remain. This body, mind, and intellect will all disappear – everything will be filled with consciousness, filled with Ramakrishna. “Bliss, bliss, nothing but bliss.’

I have jumped about my whole life and have seen that there is not the slightest hope of attaining peace or happiness here. That is why I rely on the four-syllabled name of Ra-ma-- as my sole support in life. I request all of you as well to give up all other thoughts and repeat day and night the name of Ramakrishna, the only ferryboat to take my firm conviction that without that powerful medicine there is no remedy for the disease of this world. Repeat “Jaya Ramakrishna! Jaya Ramakrishna! Jaya Ramakrishna!”

Hope

Once you have ascended a little higher, your heart will be filled with hope. Then you will have the strength to bear the joys and sorrows of this world.

You have reached the final limits of hope. There is nothing at all to hope for beyond my Sarada and Ramakrishna. Or do you hope for anything else? Completely and minutely search within your heart. Ask yourself, “What are things that I want, and what are the things that I lack?” Consider very carefully whether there is anything higher than “Saru” and “Gadai” [Sarada and Ramakrishna]

Those who have taken refuge at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna, the wish-fulfilling tree, will receive whatever they desire – we have been hearing this for a very long time. There is nothing for us to know other than the words of Sri Ramakrishna. There is nothing for us to think of other than the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. If you can spend some time absorbed in the thought of him before you return, you will be able to spend the rest of your life in peace. That is my hope.

Ignorance

You are trying to do whatever you can. So why do you worry? Leave all your worries aside and pray to Thakur to remove all these bad dreams. He is the Lord of the universe. Everything is happening by his will. How could he make mistakes? I tell you that everything is going along correctly. It is only because of ignorance that we get worried.

We have been instructed, “Serve the poor.” Without being able to hear the word “poor”, we have learned only Swamiji’s message to “serve” Now the “itch” to serve has become so powerful that we engage in service wherever we can. What is your motto – to preach the ideal or to serve the poor? Our surplus of theoretical knowledge and our dearth of practical knowledge are both gradually increasing. To follow the path set forth by Swamiji is progressively becoming an impossible ideal for us. No one in interested in his own welfare – how much further can ignorance go!”

Initiation

If (initiation) is late, or if there are various obstacles, it is not a bad thing. Through this one’s zeal increases. And unless you are able to first practice spiritual disciplines according to fixed rules, you won’t feel the results of initiation. The main thing is to practice. Nothing prevents you from doing this even if you are not initiated. No one is stopping you from thinking of the Lord and remembering Him. Just as we never forget our names, even in the midst of a thousand duties, so if we can remember His name, the name of our Chosen Ideal whom we consider our most beloved, it will be enough.

Japa

Only when the mind becomes established in yoga through the performance of work can one exclusively practice meditation and (see the Gita VI.3 & 4). It is extremely necessary to go to a solitary place from time to time.

Practice meditation and three times a day – and especially before going to sleep – for as long as you can.

One vainly wastes time by practicing and meditation without first understanding the principle behind them. Reflect on the teachings of Thakur, Mother, and Swamiji. One who is unable to perform all types of work with full concentration will only get his brain heated by practicing – or he may gain some prestige for being a spiritual seeker - that is all.

Everyone talks about “meditation and, meditation and ”; but if you think about it, you will find that these words have no meaning at all. Through long, unbroken practice, becomes natural. Otherwise, one’s brain gets heated for nothing. How many wicked people tell their beads all day long, and still their disease of wickedness does not become cured. Moreover, meditation is the seventh step in the eightfold path of yoga. Even beyond meditation is samadhi. It is a serious business.

Jealousy

Swamiji has advised us to be ever on guard against jealousy. You have a long life ahead of you with the possibilities of many opportunities. So don’t be the least bit agitated; remain quiet and wholeheartedly accept the present situation.

The sole and strongest tendency of our nation is jealousy. Read Swamiji’s letters and remain alert.

Joy

The very day you realize the infinite joy of the inner world of consciousness you will become an instrument of Sri Ramakrishna. Before that, whatever you do or try to do will only be madness – know for sure.

All our work is His worship.” If you can remember this fact, your mind will remain joyful.
Whatever I do, I do for You, Whatever I do is your worship.” If you try to maintain such an attitude of mind at all times, you will feel great strength while doing your work and will experience much joy

Again and again, a mere drop of joy followed by more misery. Without great self-effort, there is no way to escape this dreamworld of delusion. Always keep a sharp eye on your mind so that you won’t be even slightly hoodwinked. Do whatever you like, be it good or bad, but make sure that you understand what you have done. Don’t make up false explanations to hide your weakness from yourself.

Sri Ramakrishna has come and has transformed life itself into a celebration. Formerly we used to feel sad when we read about Krishna, Buddha, and Gauranga and realized that we weren’t able to associate with them. Now Thakur has drawn all of us toward him and made our lives blessed. This joy will steadily increase. And once the body goes, we will reach Ramakrishna Loka and experience complete bliss, “Be ready, be ready!”

Sri Ramakrishna came this time together with superb male and female dancers and enacted a wonderful drama on the stage of Bengal. If we can keep our minds focused on that, we will not feel any of the blows of the external world. This time, the historical accounts of Thakur’s unique divine play have been wonderfully portrayed. Try to keep your mind engrossed in that and see how much joy will come.

Knowledge

Swamiji’s books are an ocean of knowledge. And your own heart is also an ocean of knowledge. Search in both places. The human soul is ever united with the Supreme Soul. But we don’t know it; we think we are separate. And that is why we think we are very weak and worry ourselves to death. We do bad things, end up in a sorry state, and suffer. The effort to regain that knowledge is called sadhana

You will have to know that “Special One” who remains hidden within you. Otherwise, all other knowledge is useless.

The entire human race is in danger; don’t sit idly by. Prepare yourself to save mankind with the knowledge given by Sri Ramakrishna.

I am very happy to learn that you are studying the scriptures. You have renounced your home for the sole purpose of (hearing the truths of the scripture), manana (reflecting on their meaning), and (meditating on them). Unless you have knowledge of Brahman, there is no chance of having the direct realization of Brahman.

The duties of a sadhu are striving for spiritual knowledge and spreading spiritual knowledge. It is because of these two services that householders provide us with alms.

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.

Japa, meditation, and study of the scriptures are absolutely essential for one who has renounced the world. However, knowledge does not come through them. The desire for the attainment of knowledge is itself the cause of knowledge.

This time, Sri Ramakrishna has laid bare before the world-assembly all the secrets of supreme knowledge. He used to see the one spiritual reality in all the creatures of the world. Nothing can exist other than spirit. To feel that anything else exists is to limit Brahman. This is the highest knowledge, the highest realization. No one but Thakur has presented this to humanity so clearly.

Sravana, manana, – these are the means for the attainment of knowledge. If you reflect on these things at all times, you will attain that buddhi yoga which is so clearly described in the Gita.

The outer environment is the same for everyone. Even the 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.

You are learning a great deal about the objects of knowledge; now know the knower. There are twenty-four hours in a day. Let twenty-three of them exist for the sake of objects of knowledge, and leave the other hour – only sixty minutes- for the sake of the knower. Does your mother calculate how much you have learned? She only wants you. Isn’t it so? You, you, alone are the truth to her! Everything else of yours is false, utterly false…I only ask you to inquire about the nature of the Self.

To gain Self-knowledge is our life’s goal, and the ideals of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swamiji are our only support.

As soon as the knowledge fully matures that all work is Thakur’s worship, everything you do will be converted into yoga. It takes a long time to realize this ideal. Go on trying. You will definitely succeed.

Through knowledge and reasoning, the idea of the body disappears. Since the cause itself appears as the effect, cause and effect are non-different. I, the Atman, am the cause of the universe, therefore all is I. To see body, mind, intellect, happiness, and misery in it is nothing but a mental projection. In reality, I alone exist. This is what is meant by knowledge and reasoning.

The scriptures say, if you want knowledge then “fix the mind on the Self and don’t think of anything at all” (“Atma- ” [Gita VI.25]). Sit with your mind firmly established in the idea, “I am”, and don’t allow your mind to wander in any other direction. That is, give up totally the thought of anything else.

The responsibility for all types of work for the human race has fallen into the hands of people devoid of knowledge of the Self, and as a result, expectations for the improvement of humankind have proved fruitless.

Liberation

Those who want liberation don’t need to know anything else. The path to attaining this knowledge is also easy: “ Atma- ” ( “ One should fix the mind on the Self and not think of anything at all” [Gita VI.25]) But while we are on the path leading us out of this world, we want to give the message of liberation to other travelers. We have received the command: we must practice sadhana “ ca” (“for the sake of our own liberation and for the welfare of the world”) But it will not be enough if we only search for our own Self. We must also impart the news of the Self to all others.

Spiritual seekers desirous of liberation have now become workers. The only one who can give up everything can become a monk. Otherwise, he is merely pretending to be a monk, like a clown in the circus. This life is very difficult.

Those desirings take refuge in the Gita in order to free themselves from pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Open your Gita and read the following verses over and over again, try to properly understand them, and wholeheartedly put them into practice in your own life: II.14, II.57, II.64, II.71, XII.15, and XII.19. Of these, I want to especially draw your attention to verse XII.15.

There is a saying that a seeker of liberation must be blind, deaf, and dumb. This doesn’t mean that one should become like a stone or a piece of wood. You have to distinguish between good and bad; you have to listen to both sides of an argument when there is a pressing need - for example, in settling a dispute. You have to pay some heed to the different opinions of others in order to be aware of your own merits and demerits. But don’t let yourself become agitated in the least.

Just as meditation, , knowledge, and discrimination are means to the attainment of liberation, work done for the sake of the Lord is also a means.

One gets a glimpse of the Supreme Brahman through the avatar in the form of Sri Ramakrishna. His image is a symbol of purity, he is a guidepost for human life. By inquiring into his true nature, one is assured of final liberation in Brahman.

The very day you accepted Ramakrishna as your chosen Ideal, your liberation was secured. Thakur has made you grope about a little in order to exhaust your karma.

Carry out the duties of the Ashrama (karma) with the understanding that this will lead to liberation in the same way that jnana, yoga, and bhakti do.

There can be no aim whatsoever in the life of a sannyasi other than liberation. The path to realizing that has been pointed out in the life of Sri Ramakrishna-to develop every aspect of one’s life with the help of jnana, bhakti, yoga, and karma. It is a science, exactly as chemistry is a science. One must enter the laboratory after fully understanding its theories. There, forgetting both sleep and foods, one must carry out the research with all one’s heart and soul, and then directly experience the truth.

Enjoyment and liberation are two completely separate subjects – mankind has suffered so much strife due to the lack of a clear conception regarding these two. The responsibility for all types of work for the human race has fallen into the hands of people devoid of knowledge of the Self, and as a result, expectations for the desired improvement of humankind have proved fruitless.

Love

So long you cannot love God; there will always be some problem or other. You have to live by holding on to something. If God is true, if He is our father, then our worries are truly irrational. He will guide His universe as He likes. What is that to me? I only want Him. The world is unreal, truly dreamlike. Pleasure and pain come and go. Strive to perform your work efficiently.

No matter how much you may love him, He loves you many times more. There is no reason to doubt this.

Thakur is the absolute Brahman, infinite, of the nature of perfect bliss. But he is a beggar for one thing – that is “love”. He comes down, again and again, taking a human form, to beg for love. This time he is standing on the roof of the at the Dakshineshwar garden calling out to all, begging for a little love. He is blessed who can give him alms of love.

You have witnessed instances of his boundless grace at every step. Now give up all desires, give up all doubts, and offer yourself at the feet of the son of Kshudiram of Kamarpukur… Let the happiness and misery of the external world remain outside, and let your inner world be flooded with the love of Ramakrishna.

People know how to enter but not how to exit. Those who love are unable to forget. Those who are jealous do not learn how to make others their own that is why I want to practice religion. I shall be a Brahmachari, but not a worshipper of Brahmacharya. I shall love, but not be a slave to my beloved. I see the thousand faults of whomever or whatever I love – whether it be a man, a work, or a principle. I do not love less than others on that account. Can the affection I feel for various people be expressed in words. But I am free and the ones I love are also free! “Freedom is the end of love!”

Love is the only medicine which can remove the delusion of identification with the body and enable us to break through the limitations of narrowness. Real spirituality manifests as love alone… Even though I am aware of their thousand faults, I love people, looking upon them as children of the Lord, as images of the Lord, or as the Lord himself.

By paying attention to the comforts and discomforts of others, a great feeling of love will naturally ensue. But just as this may prove to be beneficial in one’s own life, it is also possible that this mutual love will entangle one in delusion.

If one can feel Sri Ramakrishna to be one’s very own, we love that person more than life itself. The reason for this is that 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.

Lust

This lust is merely a function of the body…Go on doing your work, and let the body and mind do theirs.

Meditation

Through the practice of meditation, you can understand what kind of latent impressions you have been born with. Much time is wasted in vain when one works according to his whim. Don’t float on the surface; dive deep. The entire human race is in danger; don’t sit idly by.

Unless one practices meditation, he won’t gain anything by merely reading about Vedanta or Sankhya. The mind, which is the cause of bondage and liberation, is known through meditation.

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. Even though this is not genuine Self-knowledge, it can make half of the suffering of the world vanish. If I am not the body, then I won’t worry about the body so much. If I am not the mind, then I won’t feel such intense suffering at the suffering of the mind. It is only by this method that one can rid himself of suffering. By other methods he can forget the pain for a short while – that is all. Thinking of God is merely an indirect path to the same thing.

If you can all direct your minds to meditation at the very outset, it will be a great help to our Order – this is what I wanted to tell you. I do not think that the Order is in very good shape. I do not believe that any monastic organization can retain its character for long, simply by churning out lectures, performing social service, and staging elaborate celebrations. If one does not turn his attention inward, the hidden householder lying within will come out in all his dealings, conversations and behavior.

Mind

If the mind cannot accept abstract ideas, then what is the point of coming into the circle of Sri Ramakrishna?

If one keeps three-quarters of his mind fixed within, he can shake the world with the remaining quarter….The very day you realize the infinite joy of the inner world of consciousness you will become an instrument of Sri Ramakrishna. Before that, whatever you do or try to do will only be madness – know for sure.

The mind becomes irritated and restless when we finally get what we thought we wanted earlier. This is life. When you give up all desires, you become free.

Let the mind be restless; let it be unsteady; let it do whatever it pleases. But don’t give up the ship. The highest ideal of self-sacrifice is before you. Defeats again and again – let that not scare you.

Don’t reason about whether you should work or not. Observe what your mind does and then reason. You must see whether or not it has become like “the rich man’s maidservant”.

The essence of everything is this: don’t allow your peace of mind to be shattered. Unless your mind remains calm, you cannot think of God.

The mind cannot be given to God merely by wishing. One must put forth a great effort for a long time.

If the mind is restrained from making contact with the outer world for some time, it gradually loses its attraction to sense objects and becomes indrawn. If it is really true that the Self can be found deep within the mind, then one cannot help but have the direct realization of the Self if he can make the mind motionless. You can easily make the mind steady if you constantly remember the Ishta mantra in the inner recesses of your heart. Unless you sit a little longer, you won’t be able to get any results.

Gradually immerse your mind in the formless ocean of consciousness. The mind is insentient matter. It will operate in whatever way you mold it.

Always keep a sharp eye on your mind so that you won’t be even slightly hoodwinked. Do whatever you like, be it good or bad, but make sure that you understand what you have done. Don’t make up false explanations to hide your weakness from yourself.

Whenever you get the opportunity, fix your mind on the point of light within your heart so that you may hold onto the Self, the source of all joy and strength. Otherwise, sorrows and joys, both large and small, will not decrease in the least.

Why doesn’t the mind want Him? The practice is needed. If we have really developed the love for Him, then why don’t we spend our time thinking about Him?

When sitting for your daily devotions, first spend a little time letting your mind roam about every corner of the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple. Or mentally wander through Belur Math and circumambulate the temple. If you do this for some time, your mind will run toward Thakur. There is no limit to Thakur ’s. One can spend a lot of time just thinking about his divine sport. If your mind does not become even through this, then enter Thakur’s room at Dakshineshwar, set up the table there, and play the game with Thakur, Narendra, Rakhal, Vishuddhananda, Premeshananda, and other members of the family!

You must control the mad elephant of the mind with the goad of the intellect.

To make the mind free from desire is the aim of all spiritual practice. The mind alone is bondage; the mind alone is. 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.

Remove all sorrow and pain from your mind and be content. Learn to laugh at everything…This forbearance is the basis of spiritual practice – to accept all misery with a cheerful mind.

You have received the blessings of the three; guru, God, and the devotees. Now, if only you get the grace of the “one” (the mind), you will certainly achieve perfect bliss.

Withdraw your mind from the gross external world and look with wonder at this amazing dance of Prana in the beautiful subtle world within. The Eternal Dancer, the creator of all beauty, stands behind all experience of form, taste, smell, touch, and sound. Open your inner eye, my boy, and be blessed by seeing it!

When the waves of the mind are stilled, this visible universe ceases to exist. And when you remove the ‘lid’ from the mind, the entire universe is reflected in the and creates various desires.

By continuously thinking of the Chosen ideal, the mind takes the form of the Chosen Ideal. Then the mind does not cognize any other thought and may be called “contentless” (“”)

To keep the mind continuously fixed on the feet of Thakur and Ma is the only solution to all our problems. Constantly repeat the verse, “Those who worship Me, thinking of Me and none else…” (Gita IX.22).
You no doubt know the lives of holy men and the direct disciples of Thakur, are the testimony to the truth of this great saying. If your minds become absorbed in the thought of Thakur, he will himself solve all your problems – there is no doubt about it.

If you regularly read the Kathamrita and the Gita, you will not suffer anymore from of mind.

We have caught hold of Ramakrishna only to keep our minds removed from the world. He works very slowly – that is His one defect – but whatever he does, he does thoroughly! In the beginning, we weren’t at all able to understand that the mind was gradually giving up the world. But now we are beginning to get a little hint of it. So I can assure you, that he will attract your whole mind completely.

It is necessary to try to attract the mind to form and qualities of him whose name we repeat. We must become practically unconscious of the outer world by constantly thinking about him. Within the mind are buckets of mud and dirt. Japa is like giving a bath to an elephant! Serve all; serve jives as Shiva. Let the inertia of the body and mind be removed through the repeated performance of work. Then the mind will automatically become steady. Unless one works for others, the mind will not become pure.

When our duties are completed, our minds will automatically go upward.

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.

Try to calm the mind and see Him within your own heart. Remain as you are; do what you are doing. Only don’t forget to let the Sweet One, the joy of our souls, have his play.

Your duty is to follow the instructions of your seniors, rather than whatever ideas arise in your mind.

Be up and doing in the attempt to dye your mind in the color of Ramakrishna.

If we can keep our minds detached, then nothing can bring us sorrow. Sri Ramakrishna came this time together with superb male and female dancers and enacted a wonderful drama on the stage of Bengal. If we can keep our minds focused on that, we will not feel any of the blows of the external world. This time, the historical accounts of Thakur’s unique divine play have been wonderfully portrayed. Try to keep your mind engrossed in that and see how much joy will come.

Misery

Learn to laugh at everything…This forbearance is the basis of spiritual practice – to accept all misery with a cheerful mind. “Patiently bearing all miseries without trying to alleviate them and without anxiety or sorrow” (Viveka Chudamani 24)- try to be like that. It is very bad to wear a long face.

Let the happiness and misery of the external world remain outside, and let your inner world be flooded with the love of Ramakrishna.

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.

You can spend your days floating with the current, but you will have to put up with the same misery again and again-attachment, separation, and sorrow, over and over. Again and again a mere drop of joy followed by more misery. Without great self-effort, there is no way to escape this dreamworld of delusion. Always keep a sharp eye on your mind so that you won’t be even slightly hoodwinked.

Monk

We are so irritated by the behavior of the new monks that, if we had enough money, we would manage the work with paid people. Those who come don’t want spiritual life; it is as if they had come for a job. In many ashramas, there is not much discussion about spirituality at all, and in many places, the idea of Swamiji is unknown. As a result, ashramas have become social service leagues. Spiritual seekers desirous of liberation have now become workers. The only one who can give up everything can become a monk. Otherwise, he is merely pretending to be a monk, like a clown in the circus. This life is very difficult. It is not like fighting from within a fort but from the middle of an open field. Many people are unfit for it. Moreover, some people cling to either a particular place, or work, or money, or something else with a death-like grip, especially in old age. It is very rare to have the courage and the training to become completely self-reliant. You, people, see only the first conquest. But the retreat takes place in secret. That you do not see. Every year we have to ask so many to leave. A person brings to the Order a lifetime of problems, and he has so many needs at every step. What more shall I write? Unless one is very strong, firm, capable, and intelligent, his life becomes a disgrace. People suffer greatly in the world. But we have seen that an unfit person who gives up the world suffers much more.

I know that you want to become a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, but it is not clear to me what kind of life you want to lead. We have various types of people among us – workers, jnanis, ascetics, priests, scholars; and so on….No preparation is necessary for entering the Ramakrishna Order, especially when you have a degree. But if you consider your own future, preparation is essential – not for the sake of “putting oil on one’s hands before breaking the jackfruit”, as explained in the Kathamrita, but for striving earnestly to become qualified for discerning the goal and the way and for practicing spiritual disciplines. The means of destroying tamas is work. What does it mean to apply one’s will? It is this: if you engage yourself in any work, tamas will disappear. Swadhyaya – 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. Unless one is established in Upasana (the practice of devotion), he won’t like the path of knowledge and discrimination. Have you read any psychology? A person can determine what is to be accepted and what is to be rejected by understanding the reaction that takes place when the senses come in contact with an object. You have written about vairagya and sadhana. How do you know that these are not undertaken out of ambition for becoming a “great saint”? Or out of a spirit of adventure – to go on pilgrimages to the Himalayas and Kailasa, or to practice tapasya in Hrishikesh? Do you know what “monkey imitation” is? Ambition, imitation, and adventure - after crossing these three hurdles, spiritual sadhana begins. This happens to “manushyanam sahasreshu” (Perhaps one among thousands: [Gita VII.3]) V

The life-path of the sannyasi is extremely difficult. The present condition of the country is unfavorable to the life of sannyasa in every respect. We are practically killing ourselves trying to manage this order of monks. The boys come in order to become sadhus after receiving their university educations. Even after reading this great Ramakrishna literature of ours, they cannot understand that a Sannyasi has to build up his inner life by renouncing all desires regarding his external life. After taking initiation and the vows of brahmacharya, sannyasa, etc, they see that “now we have become sannyasis.” Unable to experience the beauty and sweetness of the interior life of all, they become intoxicated with pride at wearing the cloth. Then they perform various activities for the welfare of others, so that they may stand out before society. If you are not cautious with regard to these things from the very beginning, it will be a great catastrophe.

Pain

Once the painful events have passed, the memories no longer seem painful; it is as if they were also pleasant events. In this way, the final scene will one day come. After dancing and singing, laughing and weeping, we will have finished our duties and will enter the “dressing room”. There we will meet Ramakrishna, Mother, Swamiji, and the rest, and remembering all the thousands and thousands of past plays, we will have a big laugh! We will certainly reach that state one day when all our desires are “fully satisfied”.

Remove all sorrow and pain from your mind and be content. Learn to laugh at everything…This forbearance is the basis of spiritual practice – to accept all misery with a cheerful mind.

Wherever you go, this body will follow you and cause you pain. By knowing the unattached Atman, all suffering ceases. If you do not know the Self, you will have to float for endless time on the fathomless ocean of suffering.

Try to think, “If all my pain and suffering make You happy, O Lord, then let them remain. You have given me disease, but You play Your game by also giving me the desire to cure the disease. You hold the image of death before me and create the fear of death in my mind, and then have Your fun by engaging me in hundreds of efforts to escape death.” It is just what we do when disguise ourselves as ghosts, scare the children, and make them cry.

Peace

As you go on thinking about the divine form and qualities of Thakur, and as you meditate on the unconditional love and affection of Holy Mother, and the extraordinary life of Swamiji, if only for a short time, the door will open and you will have a momentary glimpse of the infinite ocean of peace. Only then will you feel a strong urge for God-realization.

When we remember the lives of Thakur and Swamiji, the little joys and sorrows of this petty life seem so insignificant. Isn’t it so? They have come in order to raise us above this trifling existence. Once you have ascended a little higher, your heart will be filled with hope. Then you will have the strength to bear the joys and sorrows of this world. In time this outer layer of the body and mind will fall off by itself, your 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.

Duality is ignorance; unity is knowledge. When you and I are one, there is peace. When there is a feeling of difference, there is no peace.

If we have no peace, then even if all the beings in the whole world were to receive liberation that would not be of any value to us. If one is to see the Lord dwelling in the hearts of all beings and himself, then he first must form the habit of interacting with others as if they were God.

We are all like spoiled children. “Five humorous old men” [the five senses] are sitting around us and teasing us day and night. Those who react to their teasing spend their life after life in this game. And those who don’t care about form, taste, smell, touch, or sound – these “five eternal old men” – are released and attain peace. The less you care about what is happening where and who is doing what, the more you will attain peace. But you must fix your attention on the lotus feet of Sri Ramakrishna. Otherwise, you will become as lifeless as dry wood.

Have you become a sadhu to live comfortably in this world? Or have you renounced the world to seek the path to everlasting peace? If you want to renounce the world, then why do you take notice of this or that person’s face?

The awareness of pleasure and pain arises as soon as the sense organs come in contact with objects. That is why the Jnanis want to remain in Samadhi at all times and those who are seekers of knowledge go to secluded places. I endure everything thinking it to be Thakur’s will. We shall have eternal peace after completing these remaining few days.

Know yourself. Unless you know yourself, there is no way out. Even if you die, you will have no peace.

Try to feel within that you are all dwelling in the house of Sri Ramakrishna, the greatest of divine incarnations, far above all the dirt and filth of the earth. You all know how vile this world is. So with a little reflection, you will understand how much peace there is indwelling in the abode of Sri Ramakrishna.

I have jumped about my whole life and have seen that there is not the slightest hope of attaining peace or happiness here. That is why I rely upon the four-syllable name of Ra-ma-- as my sole support in life. I request all of you as well to give up all other thoughts and repeat day and night the name of Ramakrishna, the only ferryboat to take my firm conviction that without that powerful medicine there is no remedy for the disease of this world. Repeat “Jaya Ramakrishna! Jaya Ramakrishna! Jaya Ramakrishna!”

Purity

Thakur has said with his own lips that just as one gets a glimpse of the limitless sky through a round hole in a wall, similarly one gets a glimpse of the Supreme Brahman through the avatar in the form of Sri Ramakrishna. His image is a symbol of purity, he is a guidepost for human life. By inquiring into his true nature, one is assured of final liberation in Brahman. His words alone are the only words.

Ramakrishna

Revered Swamiji has recorded for us that ideal of human life which he saw in Sri Ramakrishna. Whoever his life according to Thakur’s ideal must develop his life equally along the four paths of jnana, karma, bhakti and raja yoga. If in a person’s life and one of these paths is less developed than the others, know that this person has not been able to fully attune himself to the ideal of Sri Ramakrishna.

The clearer knowledge becomes (jnana yoga) the greater will be the attraction for it (bhakti yoga). As a result of this attraction, the mind becomes more and more one-pointed (raja yoga) and in every action of our day-to-day lives (karma yoga), the purity of the Atman will manifest itself more and more. In a word, this is the ‘Ramakrishna ’; this is the basis of our spiritual sadhana.

All of you should give up the false ideas of gain and loss, birth and death, and try your utmost to transform yourselves into instruments of Sri Ramakrishna. The whole world is expecting this of you.

The Lord has assumed a human body in the form of Sri Ramakrishna, and by doing so, has glorified the human body.

The Universal Consciousness became so distressed that it could not remain in the subtle, inner world and so manifested itself externally in the form of Sri Ramakrishna. Day and night we hear our Chosen Ideal’s unbearable cry of pain over the endless agony of man.

Don’t float on the surface; dive deep. The entire human race is in danger; don’t sit idly by. Prepare yourself to save mankind with the knowledge given by Sri Ramakrishna.

Even Sri Ramakrishna, the God of Love, has been turned into a by them. He is being served with great pomp throughout the country – he must have a fancy bed, a beautiful house, and good food! If the mind cannot accept abstract ideas, then what is the point of coming into the circle of Sri Ramakrishna?

Day and night remember the words [of Swamiji]: “The only God I believe in is the sum total of individual souls.” That God is none other than Ramakrishna-Sarada-Vivekananda.

When this body goes, we shall not remember any of the work of the Ramakrishna Math or Mission. We shall remain with Him by virtue of the attraction we feel for Him in our hearts, small though it may be.

It is essential to keep a model before our eyes and build up our life. But because the unity of existence is not clearly understood by people, quarrels develop over their different Chosen Ideals, and spiritual progress does not take place. This is why Swamiji preached the science of the Self instead of preaching Ramakrishna.

“Always have faith, O my mind. You will certainly succeed.” Don’t be discouraged. There is a bright light before us, Sri Ramakrishna’s holy feet. Let the mind be restless; let it be unsteady; let it do whatever it pleases. But don’t give up the ship.

I know that you want to become a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, but it is not clear to me what kind of life you want to lead. We have various types of people among us – workers,, ascetics, priests, scholars; and so on….No preparation is necessary for entering the Ramakrishna Order, especially when you have a degree. But if you consider your own future, preparation is essential – not for the sake of “putting oil on one’s hands before breaking the jackfruit”, as explained in the Kathamrita, but for striving earnestly to become qualified for discerning the goal and the way and for practicing spiritual disciplines.

It is not good to think of trifling things in a great undertaking. In the excitement of the battle, soldiers have no time to look from side to side, and it is impossible to look back. Let all thoughts except that of Ramakrishna’s lotus feet vanish from your heart. We have come from Ramakrishna and will go back to Ramakrishna. 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.

It is not possible for us to steady our minds and fix our thoughts on Ramakrishna in just a few years. You must struggle wholeheartedly with great zeal for a long time. Otherwise, you won’t see any results and you will get completely discouraged. But Sri Ramakrishna is our support. We have summoned up our courage through our faith in him and are treading this difficult path. The farther we travel, the more we see the proof of his grace. Go forward without fear. That blessed day is very near!

The less you care about what is happening where and who is doing what, the more you will attain peace. But you must fix your attention on the lotus feet of Sri Ramakrishna. Otherwise, you will become as lifeless as dry wood.

Now that you have boarded the “ship” and secured a place on it, have no more anxiety. If you remain seated on the ship, you will reach “Ramakrishna City”. Some people can’t bear to remain on board; they jump off to drink the salt water of the ocean of worldliness. Some don’t even think about “Ramakrishna City” – they make their lives miserable thinking only of the ship. I ask you to reflect on two things: 1) the wonderful lives of Thakur, his companions, and other saints and sages of all religions and all countries; and 2) the essence of the Hindu religion, of religion as taught by Sri Ramakrishna, and of all other religion as well.

This time, the Supreme Brahman in the form of Sri Ramakrishna has come before us and simplified all these complicated questions. If we form the habit of thinking of Him, gradually all our problems will be solved. … Hari has himself come in the form of Sri Ramakrishna to take us to Him. We have nothing to worry about. We simply have to be ready to go.

Renunciation

Renunciation of egotism is real renunciation.

Renunciation alone is a sadhu’s treasure. Renunciation alone is a sadhu’s strength and support, his aid and his wealth. Renunciation alone is fearless. Go forward! Weakness, fear, terror, all will be consumed in the fire of renunciation. Go forward – there is nothing to fear.

“Brahman is real and the world unreal” But we never understood its meaning. I have finally understood clearly that it means, “Ramakrishna is real and the Ramakrishna Mission is unreal!” If you want to find Ramakrishna, you will have to cut through your attachment to the Mission. It is not of work, but renunciation of attachment! After that, once Self-realization blossoms forth, renunciation of work is inevitable!

Sannyasa

The institution of sannyasa was prescribed in the Vedas so that one could be free from all types of national, local, and religious, and search for truth. A sannyasi is neither a Bengali, nor an Englishman, nor a German, neither a Hindu nor a Muslim; he is neither even a man nor a God. If one can reduce one ’s by adopting this type of attitude, the truth will automatically reveal itself to him. To make sannyasa fully mature, one must practice for a long time in solitude, meditating on the thought, “I am Brahman.”

To protect the glory of the life of sannyasa, and to increase one’s devotion to Ramakrishna, between the five sheaths is absolutely necessary.

If a person doesn’t have experience in work, if he isn’t adept in the proper technique of work, and if his mind has not become concentrated in yoga to at least some degree, it is extremely harmful him to be “promoted to the class” of sannyasa.

The Lord says that real sannyasa means being free from desires. Read the shloka which begins “…” (VI.1). Furthermore, only when the mind becomes established in yoga through the performance of work can one exclusively practice meditation and (see the Gita VI.3 & 4). It is extremely necessary to go to a solitary place from time to time.

We have renounced the world for the sole purpose of thinking of God. Whatever serves as an obstacle to the thought of God must be mercilessly cast aside. Do you know the meaning of the word sannyasa? Sam + ni + as – that is, “completely casting aside all desires without exception”.

Sannyasa is meant for these three practices – hearing, reflecting, and meditating.

The basic teaching of sannyasa is to renounce the identification of the “I” with the body. Unless you spend a long time in meditation, that is to say, remain merged in deep contemplation, this knowledge will not arise. It is for this reason that one has to renounce all duties and connections with the world and even perform one’s own shraddha ceremony. That is why I entreat all of you to join together and constantly strive for the realization of Self-knowledge. You will have to behave just as the Lord instructed in the Gita, “enlightening one another and ever speaking of Me, they are satisfied and delighted” (Gita X.9). Then only will fulfillment come, for He has promised, “I shall bestow the yoga of wisdom” (Gita X.10)

Sannyasa is the means to the attainment of liberation. But it is very difficult to realize this. “The wise describes the path as sharp as the edge of a razor, hard to tread and difficult to cross”(Katha I.3.14). Unless one is a great hero, strong and courageous like a lion, it is hard to make progress along this path. “He breaks out of the net of the world like a lion breaking out of his cage”. 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.

Our Order is an order of sannyasis. Sannyasa means to completely and thoroughly cast aside this “I” and “mine”. Of course, one must develop this attitude in stages. You have come in order to destroy your own “I”. What is the harm if your own ideas and experience are not put to use? Obey all the instructions of the authorities with a cheerful face. Be like a puppet in the hands of whoever is above you. This is the meaning of sannyasa. What purpose will be served by questioning the merits or demerits of the authorities of the Order? If you can destroy your bondage to yourself and the external world, your true nature will manifest itself. This will bring endless good to the Order. This is not a secular order; it is wholly spiritual.

You know that the path of sannyasa is as narrow as the edge of a razor. The model clearly stands before us – the life of Holy, in which we find one strain repeated: “Sa, Sa, Sa” (forbear, forbear, forbear”) Whether very large or very small, all problems have the same solution: Forbear, forbear, forbear.

There can be no aim whatsoever in the life of a sannyasi other than liberation. The path to that has been pointed out in the life of Sri Ramakrishna-to develop every aspect of one’s life with the help of jnana, bhakti, yoga karma. It is a science, exactly as chemistry is a science. One must enter the laboratory after fully understanding its theories. There, forgetting both sleep and foods, one must carry out the research with all one’s heart and soul, and then directly experience the truth.

Unless you can all join together in every way to discuss and practice the science of liberation, you will all become “National Volunteers” Just as the gymnasts practice in the gymnasium and create “nerves of steel and muscles of iron,” so too will you, in the ashrama of the sannyasi, have to cut through the net of the world with the help of razor-sharp discrimination and intelligence. Take a passionate stand on this subject. If you run here and there without taking care of the house, in you’ll starve to death. We have to keep the fire of burning in our hearts, and we have to keep the fire bright by adding the firewood of, manana.

It is absolutely forbidden for sannyasis to partake in any activity that involves telling falsehoods in the name of helping others.

Scripture

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.

Happy to learn that you are studying the scriptures. You have renounced your home for the sole purpose of (hearing the truths of the scripture), manana (reflecting on their meaning), and (meditating on them). Unless you have indirect knowledge of Brahman, there is no chance of having the direct realization of Brahman.

By regularly studying the scriptures, your capacity for will increase, and through constantly reflecting on the Lord, your mind will automatically become concentrated on Him.

If you want to create an attachment to God in your mind, it is essential to hear about God. Nowadays sadhus don’t discuss spiritual things. As a result, the study of the scriptures is the only way open to us.

What need is there to read the scriptures over and over? The real need is for intense spiritual practice so that we can quickly acquire the knowledge of the unreality of the world.

That wonderful “humanlike” being, with nothing beyond him, nothing inside or outside of him, was playing like a naked child on the beach by the infinite, fathomless ocean, when he had the desire to swim in the Haldar pond of Kamarpukur. Such sweetness in the form of a drop of that ocean! In the presence of his divine words, where in scripture, where is?

To protect oneself from these likes and dislikes, spiritual seekers must take refuge in the Gita, the best of all scriptures. Open your Gita and read the following slokas again and again. Try to understand their deeper meaning and strive with all your heart to put them into practice.

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, and the like.

Suffering

One of the chief means to spiritual progress is (forbearance). Simply trying to avoid suffering and troubles is certainly.

Endure all suffering with a calm mind, no one is happy in this world, no one. …Instead of looking outside, look within. Thakur resides in your heart.

One who shrinks away when there is the need to endure a little suffering should live at home. Forbearance is primary and indispensable support for one on this path.

Struggle

To gain freedom – complete freedom – one must struggle unto death.

You must struggle wholeheartedly with great zeal for a long time. Otherwise, you won’t see any results and you will get completely discouraged. But Sri Ramakrishna is our support. We have summoned up our courage through our faith in him and are treading this difficult path. The farther we travel, the more we see the proof of his grace. Go forward without fear. That blessed day is very near!

Work

Even if a piece of wood is of high quality, unless it falls into the hands of a skilled craftsman, it will be sold at a low price. I have seen many good lives wasted in useless work. The “vina” of your life must be kept tuned to a high pitch; this is the real task.

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. But unless one is aware of this, the work cannot be properly done.

We should engage this worthless body and mind in his work and attain immortality. We will get gold in exchange for glass.

To keep detachment hidden in the heart and to be continually engaged in work – that is our ideal.

The purpose of education is to acquire the capacity to succeed by intelligently applying tremendous energy to work. Are you doing that? Work is itself, Brahman. Let those who are inefficient in work remain outside the path of dharma Efficiency is the first step in dharma. To take things up as a fad and to do whatever one pleases are the effects of tamas. The mind becomes pure through methodical work alone.

It is difficult for us to understand by ourselves how and in what form our power to work will manifest itself in the world. When we remain quiet and let it manifest on its own, it doesn’t cause friction with the outside world. But when we try to manifest this power through our own effort, it leads, for various reasons, to great confusion in this country. Swamiji has advised us to be ever on guard against jealousy. You have a long life ahead of you with the possibilities of many opportunities. So don’t be the least bit agitated; remain quiet and wholeheartedly accept the present situation.

Don’t reason about whether you should work or not. Observe what your mind does and then reason. You must see whether or not it has become like “the rich man’s maidservant”.

You should do your work with your mouth closed. Every night before going to sleep about the day’s work. Pick out the flaws and write them down in your diary. Then offer all the good things to Thakur and go to sleep.

Immerse yourself in the work of the ashrama. Do not depend on others – then you will become happy. The exterior of many may be bad, but God dwells within all.

“ All our work is His worship.” If you can remember this fact, your mind will remain joyful.

If we devote ourselves to the work of His mission, our lives will be blessed. That is our goal.

“Whatever I do, I do for You, Whatever I do is your worship.” If you try to maintain such an attitude of mind at all times, you will feel great strength while doing your work and will experience much joy.

Pleasure and pain come and go. Strive to perform your work efficiently.

Don’t forget him amidst all your work and thousands of worries.

As a result of your previous actions, you are experiencing your present condition of joy and sorrow. If you remain silent, you will have to suffer through your fate. But if you work hard with determination and self-effort, your present karma can dominate your past karma. There is no other way. Karma must be exhausted through work.

We should always think that we are instruments in the hands of Thakur. We move as he guides us. Whatever work we may do, our only goal is to make Sri Ramakrishna happy.

By constantly repeating the two verses from the Gita(IX.27-28), and the song quoted in Paramartha Prasanga, “O my mind, I tell you, worship Kali with every action”, try to raise the status of all your work in life to that of worship of the Lord. This is very hard, no doubt, but since you have chosen this path, you will have to do it.

Before beginning any task, think that you are going to perform his worship, and after finishing your work, offer the fruits of all your actions at his feet. You should perform all your work with the same attitude that a maidservant has who returns home after completing all her duties at her master’s house. As soon as the knowledge fully matures that all work is Thakur’s worship, everything you do will be converted into yoga. It takes a long time to realize this ideal. Go on trying. You will definitely succeed.

When we are engaged in work, it is good to know a little about the virtues and vices of our fellow workers. Only make sure that your mind does not get agitated over the behavior of others. And, of course, you must not create anxiety in others.

Think of Thakur in the midst of your work.

Let the inertia of the body and mind be removed through the repeated performance of work. Then the mind will automatically become steady. Unless one works for others, the mind will not become pure.

Go on doing your work, and let the body and mind do theirs.

Some intelligent people can perform their work by concealing the emotions of their hearts. Nowadays, people call this “cultured”.

After eating the offered food of the ceremony, people in this country talk about “father’s work” and “mother’s work”. That similar phrase of yours, “Thakur’s work”, is quite jarring to my ears. What is it that may be called “Thakur’s work,” my boy? He waded into the Ganges to do his own “mother’s work” (i.e.perform rituals for his departed mother), but when he tried to offer a handful of water, he was unable to. And now I suppose you will carry out his work? Keep in mind the verse yat (Gita IX.27)

You are a sannyasi. What is the meaning of “field of work” for you? For one who repeats, “I am Brahman,” his “field of work” is a mirage. For one who can see the restlessness of the body and mind, wherever he lives, that is his field of action. And for one who knows that the mind and intellect are imagined super-impositions on the Self, his field of action is the (the space of pure consciousness). The sannyasi may have for his field of action the (the space of mind) at best.

Brahman is real and the world unreal” But we never understood its meaning. I have finally understood clearly that it means, “Ramakrishna is real and the Ramakrishna Mission is unreal!” If you want to find Ramakrishna, you will have to cut through your attachment to the Mission. It is not the renunciation of work, but renunciation of attachment! After that, once Self-realization blossoms forth, renunciation of work is inevitable!