RELIGION
AND REALIZATION
MARCH --1882
Place : - Temple
of dakshineswar
(Henceforth Shri
Ramkrishna will be spoken
of as
Thakur” when required
as it is so done in the
Gospel )
13) “No, no evening prayer with rituals, Mine
is not so.”
Evening prayer with rituals
is but showy religion . It is for the beginners . Thakur was a master in the
Supreme Culture—Brahma Vidya. All that was needed in his part was either to
remember or to hear any attribute of God or to think of God and God would
manifest in his body sometimes in half measure and sometimes in full, and the
inner-self of Thakur would transform into God.No showy religion can be performed by him who has
attained God in him, as his inner- self will
transform into God no sooner he will remember Him .
14) “Who is this person of mold mine ? I feel
an inclination attracting me to go back to him.
Is it possible for any one
to achieve greatness without a thorough scholarly education”?
Lo, wonder! I would like
coming again to him. Either to-morrow or day after, I shall be Coming again to
him.”
Shri M’s purification of mind started at the
sight of Thakur—God in person . Shri M was thinking of Thakur. Thought of God
would purify the mind and body. A winged insect of rain has seen the glow of
fire . It is sure to come and jump in the fire . It is not the glow of fire but
luster on a gem and it will not burn though a jump is taken in it .
15 “He had a moleskin wrapper put on him .”
This is the first touch of
description of Thakur in his ordinary life as given by Shri M.Thakur was a
well-reputed monk (Sadhu-half of God emanated from the body), a saint (Sannayasi—the
body and God separated). But he had neither matted hair, nor clean uniform of
ochre colour, nor wooden sandal, nor a big staff, or a wooden water-pot nor any
outward sign of a monk by which he might be recognized . He dressed and looked
like an ordinary plain country gentleman . What sort of Paramhamsa was this ?
Thakur was the God incarnation
of the era (Avatar) .
Every era has its own
requirements . The life of Avatar (Incarnation of God) was the fulfillment of
those requirements. Thakur led an ideal life of the era, keeping balance with
the environment and as such, to teach others that His life would be followed.
It was the era of Buddha
--------
Shri Buddha was seated. He
had a dress put on him like that of a Buddhist monk. His whole body was covered
with cloth of yellow colour. His disciples, the monks, had the same dress on .
The world saw Buddha and his monk-disciples . With an
extreme reverence they paid their respect and homage to them but they kept
aloof by standing at a distance and they eyed askance . The world did not dare
approach them nor sat by them. Well, the Buddha and monks were gods—a different
set of people and they were not meant for, nor did they belong to, the ordinary
human race . Shri Buddha was for his monk, disciples and not for the world . My
own dear one would be living my life . He had no necessity for such fine dress
of ochre colour ---
Yes, it was Shri Sankar
(Shri Shankaracharya—A.D. 788-820) with well-shaved head and face, dressed in
ochre-coloured uniform from top to toe. Like a fountain his genius was
showering sparkling water all around and his erudition and scholarship like
another sun were shining and illurninating the horizon .
With all his glorious
disciples Shri Sankar was found seated . There were Padmapada, Mandam Misra,
Trotak and others . It was a mad thought to judge the superiority or
inferiority in them .
It was an amazing sight to
the world—Shri Sankar with his disciples . The human race with all their
reverence bowed down to them and went by with a sigh of grief thinking that
this life of Shri Sankar and his disciples was never meant for them, as it was
impossible for them to get the talents, achievements and self-assertions of
Sankar and his disciples. The human race left them and went after pondering within
that God was simply for Sankar and his disciples and not for ordinary man----
Shri Ramanuja appeared in
the arena after some two hundred years and a new edition of Sankar ; besides,
there was a severe strict rigidity in him .
With equal reverence showed
to Sankar, the human race bowed down to Ramanuja and went by . They could not
find any link between their life and the life of Ramanuja. They approached him
with great expectation but they found that it was not for them---
Place-“-PURI” in Orissa .
15) Look there :
There was Shri Chaitanya sealed . He was talking about Radha’s (a female
devotee) love for Shri Krishna to his own devotees .
He looked like both Jupiter
and Cupid combined together . But simply he had a torn rag on his loins . To
attain God by self-exertion (Vividisha) through privations and cynicism was
introduced by Buddha and Sankar ; but it was not so prominent with them as it
was practiced and followed with rigid principle by Shri Chaitanya in his own life .
The world was the magnetic
and dazzling figure of Shri Chaitanya . But from a distance, mangave up a sigh,
lost his heart and went by . Only in passed in his mind—“Alack ! he is not
mine”.------
Thakur had a wrapper on his
body and sleepers on his feet ; yes, he attained God in accordance with the
outlined principles of the Vedanta (Paramahansa) .
Shri M brought back hope in
the mind of the humanity by this description of Thakur who was not unlike a
plain and simple man his daily dress like others .
In winter I put on a wrapper
on my body and sleepers on my feet . Thakur led a life—a very similar life like
that of mine. But Thakur attained God. How am I to do so ?
Yes, there is expectation
and hope for every one us . We must be remembering the announcement made by
Thakur—“Uncle Moon is everyone’s uncle.” God is for everybody. (Moon in India
Thakur attained God and
through his grace I shall be attaining God also .
16) “With whom shall I talk to, when I go to Calcutta
God expresses Himself in and through a devotee
. He creates a true devotee by giving him His grace. Thakur took a liking on
Keshab (Keshab Chandra Sen was founder and leader of a Brahmo Sect), gave him
his (Thakur’s) grace and Keshab saw God in the form of Kali ; so he
acknowledged the existence of Kali . Shri Keshab was a real devotee ; so Thakur
had a deep affection for him .
17) “Well, do you know one Mr. Cook is come ? It
he lecturing out here ?”
Thakur was perfectly sure that
lectures cold not render any help to make a see God .
Lectures are but temporary
measures . The people will no doubt listen to you with all attention but they
are sure to forget it in no time . It does not leave a permanent stamp on the
audience . No action will be produced in the body of the audience if the
lecture has got no commandment from the God . “If God frees Himself from the
body then there is liberation (Mukti)”—and it means religion .
18) “The brother of Pratap did came here . He
stopped with me for some days, he was out of employment . He told me that he
wanted to live with me . I came to learn that he left his family at his
father-in-law’s place . His family is a big one and a whole brood of them .He
was taken to task for this .Just a fancy ! He is the head of such a big family
! Will his neighbour feed his children, take care of them and bring them up ?
Is he not ashamed that his wife and children are maintained by somebody else
and they have been left in an uncared condition in his father-in-law’s place ?
He had a severe scolding from me and I asked him to pick up a job . Then he was
induced to leave this place”.
Here is a sketch chalked out
by Thakur for an ordinary man to lead his life . He must be carning his own
livelihood ; if he is a family man he must be maintaining his family and at the
same time he must be praying to be a real devotee and love God . “A gentle
breeze shakes a leaf of a tree . God with it, and the leaf is shaken”.
Pratap’s brother is
encumbered with a family. It is so ordained and it has turned out to be so .
But he comes to Thakur ; that is, he has got an inclination of love to God .
Yes, it is so ; let him earn his livelihood, maintain I is family and let him
love God at the same time . This is Thakur’s injunction on Pratap’s brother.
Let us scan here a bit of
Thakur’s own life . What did he himself do at the outset ? He came in the temple of Dakshineswar
Thakur himself used to say,
“I live on person”.
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