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 )
159)
“One on arrival
at ‘Kalighat’, got himself engaged
in giving alms
only ;
then there would
be no time
for him to
see the image
of the Divine Mother, ‘Kali’,
in the inner
shrine”.
(Kalighat is a locality of Calcutta and here the temple of the Divine
Mother, called “Kali”, is situated).Kalighat---represents the world . One is
come to the world . His first and foremost duty is to see God, i.e., to solve
the mystery of life and death , On the contrary, a man comes to the arena of
the world, dances his futile dance and passes away.
160)
“In case of
fever, if the old
Kaviraja’s (Doctors
practicing in old
method )
Treatment is adopted
then the patient
is sure to
collapse”.
Fever---represents the disease---‘ego’ or ‘I’.
Doctor’s old method---means seeing God the five sheaths or
seven planes as laid down in the Vedas.
The patient is sure to collapse---signifies that the
physical body in the present era cannot stand so much strain.
161)
“The present era
demands quick action”.
Thakur means to say that the present era is an era of
devotion and prayer .
It was so as long as Thakur lived in this world . But with
the disappearance of Thakur from this world, the era has changed . The method is
altered. It is Thakur’s era . A new method has been adopted. It is an age of
injection, i,e., it will come from within the body as God-the-preceptor comes
from inside the body .
162)
“The religion of
the era is
devotion and prayer”.
Let you follow the path of prayer and devotion and if God in
your takes pity He will appear as God-the-preceptor and will show you His
sports and sportive forms and you will be a witness to them.
163)
“Like Vedantist (non-dualists) you
do not say
That the world
is but a
dream”.
Why those devotees do say so?
They are not blessed with this realization as they did not
see God and there was no chance for them to do so. They are aged people . Had there
been any chance for them to realize God then that would have come to pass at
their youth within 25 years of age .
At Surendra’s
)Suresh Mitra’s ) house
after the
boat trip.
164) “Have the fare
from the ladies
of the house .For
certain, they must be knowing
that their husbands
(Suresh Mitra & others) pay
visit to
us at the
temple of Dakshineswar.”
It means transmission of power from to one another and it
speaks wonder .
In our case we find that husband comes and he see the
“Diamond”---in the shape of my own person---within, and then other members of
the family see me in the following four forms;---
(i) In dream.
(ii) In meditation.
(iii) In an
awakened condition—as a living man .
(iv) In trance.
It was not so in the time of Thakur.
Even the wife of Suresh Babu during the life—time of Thakur
made a different preceptor or Guru.
165)
“There hung on the wall
an oil-painting and
Surendra got it
painted specially for
him (Surendra). In the
picture, it was so
pointed out
by Thakur to
Keshab about the harmony
of all religions,
viz.
Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and also in other sectarianisms
such as, ‘Vaishnava’,
‘Sakta’, ‘Shaiva’, etc”.
It was but a picture—a creation of imagination .
“Many have admitted that all the religions of the world are
right”--. Swami Vivekananda (The ideal of a Universal Religion).
Whereas, when a man becomes God, any member of the human
race coming in contact with Him will see Him within his own body, and even in
many cases without any contact they see Him. The question of religion, sect,
caste or creed does not arise (vide Preface, page-17). This is harmony. This is
Swami Vivekananda’s Point of Union” for which he laid down his glorious life,
though it did not come into existence in his own life-time.
The great Swami exclaimed that no practical plan was adopted
by any to bring about this harmony in the conflux of the claim of superiority
and disparity over other religions.
In Volume II of the complete works of Swami Vivekananda
[Ninth (Enlarged) Edition, 1958—published in Mayavati, Almora, Himalaya], the
great Swami says, “That plan alone is practical which does not destroy the individuality
of any man in religion and at the same time shows him a point of union with all
others”.
No practical plan can be chalked out . This harmony is
achieved through Mahayoga---the ‘Great Yoga’ which evinces that “All is One and
One is All”---only in the spiritual world within(Vide Introduction, Page 15
&16).
