The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - Chapter - 15

Chapter 15

LAST VISIT TO KESHAB

Wednesday, November 28, 1883

AT TWO O'CLOCK in the afternoon, M. was pacing the foot-path of the Circular Road in front of the Lily Cottage, where Keshab Chandra Sen lived.  He was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Sri Ramakrishna.  Keshab's illness had taken a serious turn, and there was very little chance of his recovery.  Since the MASTER loved Keshab dearly, he was coming from Dakshineswar to pay him a visit.

On the east side of the Circular Road was Victoria College, where the ladies of Keshab's Brahmo Samaj and their daughters received their education.  To the north of the college was a spacious garden house inhabited by an English family.  M. noticed that there was a commotion in the house and wondered what was going on.  Presently a hearse arrived with the drivers dressed in black, and the members of the household appeared, looking very sad.  There had been a death in the family.

"Whither does the soul go, leaving behind this mortal body?" Pondering the age-old question, M. waited, watching the carriages that came from the north.

MASTER's visit to Keshab

About five o'clock a carriage stopped in front of the Lily Cottage and Sri Ramakrishna got out with Lātu and several other devotees, including Rākhāl .  He was received by Keshab's relatives, who led him and the devotees upstairs to the verandah south of the drawing-room.  The MASTER seated himself on a couch.

After a long wait he became impatient to see Keshab.  Keshab's disciples said that he was resting and would be there presently.  Sri Ramakrishna became more and more impatient and said to Keshab's disciples: "Look here, what need is there of his coming to me? Why can't I go in and see him?"

PRASANNA (humbly):  "Sir, he will come in a few minutes."

MASTER: "Go away! It is you who are making all this fuss.  Let me go in."
Prasanna began to talk about Keshab in order to divert the MASTER's attention.  He said: "Keshab is now an altogether different person.  Like you, sir, he talks to the Divine Mother.  He hears what the Mother says, and laughs and cries."

When he was told that Keshab talked to the Divine Mother and laughed and cried, the MASTER became ecstatic.  Presently he went into samādhi.

It was winter and the MASTER was wearing a green flannel coat with a shawl thrown over it.  He sat straight, with his eyes fixed, deep in ecstasy.  A long time passed in this way.  There was no indication of his returning to the normal plane of consciousness.

Gradually it became dark.  Lamps were lighted in the drawing-room, where the MASTER was now to go.  While he was slowly coming down to the plane of ordinary consciousness, he was taken there, though with great difficulty.  The room was well furnished.  At the sight of the furniture, the MASTER muttered to himself, "These things were necessary before, but of what use are they now?" Seeing Rākhāl , he said, "Oh, hello! Are you here?" Then, seating himself on a couch, he again lost consciousness of the outer world, and, looking around as if seeing someone, he said: "Hello, Mother! I see that You too have come.  How You are showing off in Your Benares sari! Don't bother me now, please.  Sit down and be quiet."

The MASTER was in a state of intense divine intoxication.  In the well-lighted room the Brahmo devotees sat around the MASTER; Lātu, Rākhāl , and M. remained near him.  He was saying to himself, still filled with divine fervour: "The body and the soul! The body was born and it will die.  But for the soul there is no death.  It is like the betel-nut.  When the nut is ripe it does not stick to the shell.  But when it is green it is difficult to separate it from the shell.  After realizing God, one does not identify oneself any more with the body.  Then one knows that body and soul are two different things."

Keshab's serious illness

At this moment Keshab entered the room.  He came through the east door.  Those who remembered the man who had preached in the Town Hall or the Brahmo Samaj temple were shocked to see this skeleton covered with skin.  He could hardly stand.  He walked holding to the wall for support.  With great difficulty he sat down in front of the couch.  In the mean time Sri Ramakrishna had got down from the couch and was sitting on the floor.  Keshab bowed low before the MASTER and remained in that position a long time, touching the MASTER's feet with his forehead.  Then he sat up.  Sri Ramakrishna was still in a state of ecstasy.  He muttered to himself.  He talked to the Divine Mother.

Raising his voice, Keshab said: "I am here, sir.  I am here." He took Sri Ramakrishna's left hand and stroked it gently.  But the MASTER was in deep samādhi, completely intoxicated with divine love.  A stream of words came from his lips as he talked to himself, and the devotees listened to him spellbound.

Brahman manifesting Itself as the universe

MASTER: "As long as a man associates himself with upadhis, so long he sees the manifold, such as Keshab, Prasanna, Amrita, and so on; but on attaining Perfect Knowledge he sees only one Consciousness everywhere.  The same Perfect Knowledge, again, makes him realize that the one Consciousness has become the universe and its living beings and the twenty-four cosmic principles.  But the manifestations of Divine Power are different in different beings.  It is He, undoubtedly, who has become everything; but in some cases there is a  greater manifestation than in others.

"Vidyasagar once asked me, 'Can it be true that God has endowed some with greater power and some with less?' I replied: 'If that were not so, how is it that one man may be stronger than fifty? If that were not the case, again, how is it that we have all come here to see you?'

"The soul through which God sports is endowed with His special power.  The landlord may reside in any part of his estate, but he is generally to be found in a particular drawing-room.  The devotee is God's drawing-room.  God loves to sport in the heart of His devotee.  It is there that His special power is manifest.

Signs of a true devotee

"What is the sign of such a devotee? When you see a man doing great works, you may know that God's special power is manifested through him.

Identity of Brahman and Śakti

"The Primordial Power and the Supreme Brahman are identical.  You can never think of the one without the other.  They are like the gem and its brilliance.  One cannot think of the brilliance without the gem, or of the gem without its brilliance.  Again, it is like the snake and its wriggling motion.  One cannot think of the wriggling motion without the snake, or of the snake without its wriggling motion.

"It is the Primordial Power that has become the universe and its living beings and the twenty-four cosmic principles.  It is a case of involution and evolution.

MASTER's love for pure-souled disciples

"Why do I feel so restless for Rākhāl , Narendra, and the other youngsters? Hazra once asked me, 'When will you think of God if you are always anxious about these boys?' (Keshab and the others smile.) That worried me greatly.  I prayed to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, see what a fix I am in! Hazra scolds me because I worry about these young men.' Afterwards I asked Bholanath about it.  He said to me that such a state of mind is described in the Mahabharata.  How else will a man established in samādhi occupy his mind in the phenomenal world, after coming down from samādhi? That is why he seeks the company of devotees endowed with sattva.  I gave a sigh of relief when Bholanath told me of the Mahabharata.

"Hazra is not to blame.  During the period of struggle one should follow the method of discrimination-'Not this, not this'-and direct the whole mind to God.  But the state of perfection is quite different.  After reaching God one reaffirms what formerly one denied.  To extract butter you must separate it from the buttermilk.  Then you discover that butter and buttermilk are intrinsically related to one another.  They belong to the same stuff.  The butter is not essentially different from the buttermilk, nor the buttermilk essentially different from the butter.  After realizing God one knows definitely that it is He who has become everything.  In some objects He is manifested more clearly, and in others less clearly.

"When a flood comes from the ocean, all the land is deep under water.  Before the flood, the boat could have reached the ocean only by following the winding course of the river.  But after the flood, one can row straight to the ocean.  One need not take a roundabout course.  After the harvest has been reaped, one need not take the roundabout course along the balk of the field.  One can cross the field at any point.

"After the realization of God, He is seen in all beings.  But His greater manifestation is in man.  Again, among men, God manifests Himself more clearly in those devotees who are sattvic, in those who have no desire whatever to enjoy 'woman and gold'.  Where can a man of samādhi rest his mind, after coming down from the plane of samādhi? That is why he feels the need of seeking the company of pure-hearted devotees, endowed with sattva and free from attachment to 'woman and gold'.  How else could such a person occupy himself in the relative plane of consciousness?

"He who is Brahman is the Ādyāśakti, the Primal Energy.  When inactive He is called Brahman, the Purusha; He is called Śakti, or Prakriti, when engaged in creation, preservation, and destruction.  These are the two aspects of Reality: Purusha and Prakriti.  He who is the Purusha is also Prakriti.  Both are the embodiment of Bliss.

"If you are aware of the Male Principle, you cannot ignore the Female Principle: He who is aware of the father must also think of the mother.  ( Keshab laughs ) He who knows darkness also knows light.  He who knows night also knows day.  He who knows happiness also knows misery.  You understand this, don't you?"

KESHAB: "Yes, sir.  I do."

MASTER: "My Mother! Who is my Mother? Ah, She is the Mother of the Universe.  It is She who creates and preserves the world, who always protects Her children, and who grants whatever they desire: dharma, artha, kama, moksha.  A true son cannot live away from his mother.  The Mother knows everything.  The child only eats, drinks, and makes merry; he doesn't worry himself about the things of the world."

KESHAB: "Yes, sir.  It is quite true."

While talking, Sri Ramakrishna regained the normal consciousness of the world.  With a smile on his face he conversed with Keshab.  The roomful of men watched them eagerly, and listened to their words.  Everybody was amazed to find that neither Keshab nor the MASTER inquired about each other's health.  They talked only of God.

Meditating on God and not on His glories

MASTER (to Keshab):  "Why do the members of the Brahmo Samaj dwell so much on God's glories? Is there any great need of repeating such things as 'O God, Thou hast created the moon, the sun, and the stars'? Most people are filled with admiration for the garden only.  How few care to see its owner! Who is greater, the garden or its owner?

"After a few drinks at a tavern, do I care to Know how many gallons of wine are stored there? One bottle is enough for me.

"When I met Narendra, I never asked him  'Who is your father? How many houses does he own?'

"Shall I tell you the truth? Man loves his own riches, and so he thinks  that God loves His, too.  He thinks that God will be pleased if we glorify His riches.  Once Sambhu said to me, 'Please bless me, that I may die leaving my riches at the Lotus Feet of God.' I answered: 'These are riches only to you.  What riches can you offer God? To Him these are mere dust and straw.'

"Once a thief broke into the temple of Vishnu and robbed the image of its jewels.  Mathur Babu and I went to the temple to see what was the matter.  Addressing the image, Mathur said bitterly: 'What a shame, Lord! You are so worthless! The thief took all the ornaments from Your body, and You couldn't do a thing about it.' Thereupon I said to Mathur: 'Shame on you! How improper your words are! To God, the jewels you talk so much about are only lumps of clay.  Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune, is His Consort.  Do you mean to say that He should spend sleepless nights because a thief has taken your few rupees? You mustn't say such things.'

"Can one ever bring God under control through wealth? He can be tamed only through love.  What does He want? Certainly not wealth! He wants from His devotees love, devotion, feeling, discrimination, and renunciation.

Different classes worshippers

"One looks on God exactly according to one's own inner feeling.  Take, for instance, a devotee with an excess of tamas.  He thinks that the Divine Mother eats goat.  So he slaughters one for Her.  Again, the devotee endowed with rajas cooks rice and various other dishes for the Mother.  But the sattvic devotee doesn't make any outer show of his worship.  People don't even know he is worshipping.  If he has no flowers, he worships God with mere Ganges water and the leaves of the bel-tree.  His food offering to the Deity consists of sweetened puffed rice or a few candies.  Occasionally he cooks a little rice pudding for the Deity

"There is also another class of devotees, those who are beyond the three gunas.  They have the nature of a child.  Their worship consists in chanting God's name-just His name.

Meaning of Keshab's illness

(To Keshab, with a smile) "Why is it that you are ill? There is a reason for it.  Many spiritual feelings have passed through your body; therefore it has fallen ill.  At the time an emotion is aroused, one understands very little about it.  The blow that it delivers to the body is felt only after a long while.  I have seen big steamers going by on the Ganges, at the time hardly noticing their passing.   But oh, my! What a terrific noise is heard after a while, when the waves splash against the banks! Perhaps a piece of the bank breaks loose and falls into the water.

"An elephant entering a hut creates havoc within and ultimately shakes it down.  The elephant of divine emotion enters the hut of this body and shatters it to pieces.

"Do you know what actually happens? When a house is on fire, at first a few things inside burn.  Then comes the great commotion.  Just so, the fire of Knowledge at first destroys such enemies of spiritual life as passion, anger, and so forth.  Then comes the turn of ego.  And lastly a violent commotion is seen in the physical frame.

"You may think that everything is going to be over.  But God will not release you as long as the slightest trace of your illness is left.  You simply cannot leave the hospital if your name is registered there.  As long as the illness is not perfectly cured, the doctor won't give you a permit to go.  Why did you register your name in the hospital at all?" (All laugh.)

MASTER's own illness

Keshab laughed again and again at the MASTER's allusion to the hospital.  Then Sri Ramakrishna spoke of his own illness.  (To Keshab) "Hriday used to say, 'Never before have I seen such ecstasy for God, and never before have I seen such illness.' I was then  sriously ill with stubborn diarrhoea.  It was as if millions of ants were gnawing at my brain.  But all the same, spiritual talk went on day and night.  Dr.  Rāma of  Natagore was  called in to see me.  He found me discussing spiritual truth.  'What a madman!' he said.  'Nothing is left of him but a few bones, and still he is reasoning like that!' "

MASTER (to Keshab): "All depends on God's will.

O Mother, all is done after Thine own sweet will;
Thou art in truth self-willed, Redeemer of mankind!
Thou workest Thine own work; men only call it theirs.

"In order to take full advantage of the dew, the gardener removes the soil from the Basra rose down to the very root.  The plant thrives better on account of the moisture.  Perhaps that is why you too are being shaken to the very root.  (Keshab and the MASTER laugh.) It may be that you will do tremendous things when you come back.

"Whenever I hear that you are ill I become extremely restless.  After hearing of your last illness I, used to weep to the Divine Mother in the small hours of the morning.  I prayed to Her, 'O Mother, if anything happens to Keshab, with whom, then, shall I talk in Calcutta?' Coming to Calcutta, I offered fruits and sweets to the Divine Mother with a prayer for your well-being."

The devotees were deeply touched to hear of Sri Ramakrishna's love for Keshab and his longing for the Brahmo leader.

MASTER: "But this time, to tell the truth, I didn't feel anxious to that extent.  Only for two or three days did I feel a little worried."

Keshab's venerable mother came to the east door of the room, the same door through which Keshab had entered.  Umanath said aloud to the MASTER, "Sir, here is mother saluting you."

Sri Ramakrishna smiled.  Umanath said again, "Mother asks you to bless Keshab that he may be cured of his illness."

MASTER (to Keshab's mother): "Please pray to the Divine Mother, who is the Bestower of all bliss.  She will take away your troubles.

(To keshab) "Don't spend long hours in the inner apartments.  You will sink down and down in the company of women.  You will feel better if you hear only talk of God."

The MASTER uttered these words in a serious voice and then began to laugh like a boy.  He said to Keshab, "Let me see your hand." He weighed it playfully, like a child.  At last he said: "No, your hand is light.  Hypocrites have heavy hands."(All laugh.) .

Umanath again said to the MASTER from the door.  "Mother asks you to bless Keshab."

MASTER (gravely): "What can I do? God alone, blesses all.  'Thou  workest Thine, own work; men only call it theirs.'

"God laughs on two occasions.  He laughs when two brothers divide land between them.  They put a string across the land and say to each other, 'This side is mine, and that side is yours.  God laughs and says to Himself, 'Why, this whole universe is Mine; and about a little clod  they say, "This side is mine, and that side is yours"!'

"God laughs again when the physician says to the mother weeping bitterly because of her child's desperate illness: 'Don't be afraid, mother.  I shall cure your child.' The physician does not know that no one can save the child if God wills that he should die." (All are silent.)

Just then Keshab was seized with a fit of coughing, which lasted for a long time.  The sight of his suffering made everyone, sad.  He became exhausted and could stay no longer.  He bowed low before the MASTER and left the room, holding to the wall as before.

Some refreshments had been arranged for the MASTER.  Keshab's eldest son was seated near him.  Amrita introduced the boy and requested Sri Ramakrishna to bless him.  The MASTER said, "It is not given to me to bless anyone." With a sweet smile he stroked the boy's body gently.

AMRITA (with a smile): "All right, then do as you please."

MASTER (to the devotees): " I cannot say such a thing as 'May you be healed.' I never ask the Divine Mother to give me the power of healing.  I pray to Her only for pure love.

MASTER praises Keshab

"Is Keshab a small person? He is respected by all, seekers after wealth as well as holy men.  Once I visited Dayananda, who was then staying at a garden house.  I saw he was extremely anxious about Keshab's coming; he went out every few minutes to see whether he had arrived.  I learnt later on that Keshab had made an appointment with him that day.  Keshab, I understood, had no faith in the sacrifices and the deities mentioned in the Vedas.  Referring to this, Dayananda said: 'Why, the Lord has created so many things.  Could He not make deities as well?' "

Continuing, the MASTER said: "Keshab is free from the pride of a small minded religious teacher.  To many people he has said, 'If you have any doubts, go there2 to have them solved.' It is my way, too, to say: 'What shall I do with people's respect? Let Keshab's virtues increase a millionfold.' Keshab is certainly a great man.  Everyone respects him, seekers after wealth as well as holy men." Thus did Sri Ramakrishna praise Keshab before the latter's disciples.

After partaking of the refreshments the MASTER was ready to leave.  The Brahmo devotees accompanied him to the cab, which was standing in the street.  While coming down the stairs the MASTER noticed that there was no light on the ground floor.  He said to Amrita and Keshab's other disciples: "These places should be well lighted.  A house without light becomes stricken with poverty.  Please see that it doesn't happen again."

Then Sri Ramakrishna left for Dakshineswar with one or two devotees.

On his way to Dakshineswar from Keshab's cottage Sri Ramakrishna stopped at Jaygopal Sen's house.  It was about seven o'clock in the evening.
In the drawing-room, Jaygopal's relatives and neighbours had gathered.  Vaikuntha, Jaygopal's brother, said to the MASTER: "Sir, we are worldly people.  Please give us some advice."

Advice to the worldly-minded

MASTER: "Do your duty to the world after knowing God.  With one hand hold to the Lotus Feet of the Lord and with the other do your work."

VAIKUNTHA: "Is the world unreal?"

MASTER: "Yes, it is unreal as long as one has not realized God.  Through ignorance man forgets God and speaks always of 'I' and 'mine'.  He sinks down and down, entangled in maya, deluded by 'woman and gold'.  Maya robs him of his knowledge to such an extent that he cannot find the way of escape, though such a way exists.

"Listen to a song:

When such delusion veils the world, through Mahamaya's spell,
That Brahma is bereft of sense
And Vishnu loses consciousness,
What hope is left for men? .  .

"You all know from your experience how impermanent the world is.  Look at it this way.  How many people have come into the world and again passed away! People are born and they die.  This moment the world is and the next it is not.  It is impermanent.  Those you think to be your very own will not exist for you when you close your eyes in death.  Again, you see people who have no immediate relatives, and yet for the sake of a grandson they will not go to Benares to lead a holy life.  'Oh, what will become of my Haru then?' they argue.:

The narrow channel first is made, and there the trap is set;
But open though the passage lies,
The fish, once safely through the gate,
Do not come out again.

Yet even though a way leads forth,
Encased within its own cocoon,
The worm remains to die.

This kind of world is illusory and impermanent."

A NEIGHBOUR: "Why, sir, should one hold to God with one hand and to the world with the other? Why should one even stretch out one hand to hold to the world, if it is impermanent?"

MASTER: "The world is not impermanent if one lives there after knowing God.  Listen to another song:

O mind, you do not know how to farm!
Fallow lies the field of your life.
If you had only worked it well,
How rich a harvest you might reap!
Hedge it about with Kāli's name
If you would keep your harvest safe;
This is the stoutest hedge of all,
For Death himself cannot come near it.  .  .  .
"Did you listen to the song?
Hedge it about with Kāli's name
If you would keep your harvest safe.
Surrender yourself to God and you will achieve everything.
This is the stoutest hedge of all,
For Death himself cannot come near it.

Ideal householder's life

"Yes, it is a strong hedge indeed.  If you but, realize God, you won't see the world as unsubstantial.  He who has realized God knows that God Himself has become the world and all living beings.  When you feed your child, you should feel that you are feeding God.  You should look on your father and mother as veritable manifestations of God and the Divine Mother, and serve them as such.  If a man enters the world after realizing God, he does not generally keep up physical relations with his wife.  Both of them are devotees; they love to talk only of God and pass their time in spiritual conversation.  They serve other devotees of God, for they know that God alone has become all living beings; and, knowing this, they devote their lives to the service of others."

NEIGHBOUR: "But, sir, such a husband and wife are not to be found anywhere."

MASTER: "Yes, they can be found, though they may be very rare.  Worldly people cannot recognize them.  In order to lead such a life both husband and wife must be spiritual.  It is possible to lead such a life if both of them have tasted the Bliss of God.  God's special grace is necessary to create such a couple; otherwise there will always be misunderstanding between them.  In that case the one has to leave the other.  Life becomes very miserable if husband and wife do not agree.  The wife will say to her husband day and night: 'Why did my father marry me to such a person? I can't get enough to eat or to feed my children.  I haven't clothes enough to cover my body or to give to my children.  I haven't received a single piece of jewelry from you.  How happy you have made me! Ah! You keep your eyes closed and mutter the name of God! Now do give up all these crazy ideas.' "

DEVOTEE: "There are such obstacles, certainly.  Besides, the children may be disobedient.  There is no end of difficulties.  Now, sir, what is the way?"

Solitude and holy company

MASTER: "It is extremely difficult to practise spiritual discipline and at the same time lead a householder's life.  There are many handicaps: disease, grief, poverty, misunderstanding with one's wife, and disobedient, stupid, and stubborn children.  I don't have to give you a list of them.

"But still there is a way out.  One should pray to God, going now and then into solitude, and make efforts to realize Him."

NEIGHBOUR: "Must one leave home then?"

MASTER: "No, not altogether.  Whenever you have leisure, go into solitude for a day or two.  At that time don't have any relations with the outside world and don't hold any conversation with worldly people on worldly affairs.  You must live either in solitude or in the company of holy men."

NEIGHBOUR: "How can one recognize a holy man?"

MASTER: "He who has surrendered his body, mind, and innermost self to God is surely a holy man.  He who has renounced 'woman and gold' is surely a holy man.  He is a holy man who does not regard woman with the eyes of a worldly person.  He never forgets to look upon a woman as his mother, and to offer her his worship if he happens to be near her.  The holy man constantly thinks of God and does not indulge in any talk except about spiritual things.  Furthermore, he serves all beings, knowing that God resides in everybody's heart.  These, in general, are the signs of a holy man."

"Must one always live in solitude?"

MASTER: "Haven't you seen the trees on the foot-path along a street? They are fenced around as long as they are very young; otherwise cattle destroy them.  But there is no longer any need of fences when their trunks grow thick and strong.  Then they won't break even if an elephant is tied to them.  Just so, there will be no need for you to worry and fear if you make your mind as strong as a thick tree-trunk.  First of all try to acquire discrimination.  Break the jack-fruit open only after you have rubbed your hands with oil; then its sticky milk won't smear them."

NEIGHBOUR: "What is discrimination?"

MASTER: "Discrimination is the reasoning by which one knows that God alone is real and all else is unreal.  Real means eternal, and unreal means impermanent.  He who has acquired discrimination knows that God is the only Substance and all else is non-existent.  With the awakening of this spirit of discrimination a man wants to know God.  On the contrary, if a man loves the unreal-such things as creature comforts, name, fame, and wealth, then he doesn't want to know God, who is of the very nature of Reality.  Through discrimination between the Real and the unreal one seeks to know God.

"Listen to a song:

Come, let us go for a walk, O mind, to Kāli, the Wish-fulfilling Tree,
And there beneath It gather the four fruits of life.
Of your two wives, Dispassion and Worldliness,
Bring along Dispassion only, on your way to the Tree,
And ask her son Discrimination about the Truth.  .  .  .

"By turning the mind within oneself one acquires discrimination, and through discrimination one thinks of Truth.  Then the mind feels the desire to go for a walk to Kāli, the Wish-fulfilling Tree.  Reaching that Tree, that is to say, going near to God, you can without any effort gather four fruits, namely, dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.  Yes, after realizing God, one can also get, if one so desires, dharma, artha, and kama, which are necessary for leading the worldly life."

NEIGHBOUR: "Then why should one call the world maya?"

God and the world

MASTER: "As long as one has not realized God, one should renounce the world, following the process of 'Neti, neti.' But he who has attained God knows that it is God who has become all this.  Then he sees that God, maya, living beings, and the universe form one whole.  God includes the universe and its living beings.  Suppose you have separated the shell, flesh, and seeds of a bel-fruit and someone asks you the weight of the fruit.  Will you leave aside the shell and the seeds, and weigh only the flesh? Not at all.  To know the real weight of the fruit, you must weigh the whole of it-the shell, the flesh, and the seeds.  Only then can you tell its real weight.  The shell may be likened to the universe, and the seeds to living beings.  While one is engaged in discrimination one says to oneself that the universe and the living beings are non-Self and unsubstantial.  At that time one thinks of the flesh alone as the substance, and the shell and seeds as unsubstantial.  But after discrimination is over, one feels that all three parts of the fruit together form a unity.  Then one further realizes that the stuff that has produced the flesh of the fruit has also produced the shell and seeds.  To know the real nature of the bel-fruit one must know all three.

"It is the process of evolution and involution.  The world, after its dissolution, remains involved in God; and God, at the time of creation, evolves as the world.  Butter goes with buttermilk, and buttermilk goes with butter.  If there is a thing called buttermilk, then butter also exists; and if there is a thing called butter, then buttermilk also exists.  If the Self exists, then the non-Self must also exist.

"The phenomenal world belongs to that very Reality to which the Absolute belongs; again, the Absolute belongs to that very Reality to which the phenomenal world belongs.  He who is realized as God has also become the universe and its living beings.  One who knows the Truth knows that it is He alone who has become father and mother, child and neighbour, man and animal, good and bad, holy and unholy, and so forth."

Virtue and vice

NEIGHBOUR: "Then is there no virtue and no sin?"

MASTER: "They both exist and do not exist.  If God keeps the ego in a man, then He keeps in him the sense of differentiation and also the sense of virtue and sin.  But in a rare few He completely effaces the ego and these go beyond virtue and sin, good and bad.  As long as a man has not realized God, he retains the sense of differentiation and the knowledge of good and bad.  You may say: 'Virtue and sin are the same to me.  I am doing only as God bids me.' But you know in your heart of hearts that those are mere words.  No sooner do you commit an evil deed than you feel a palpitation in your heart.  Even after God has been realized, He keeps in the mind of the devotee, if He so desires, the feeling of the 'servant ego'.  In that state the devotee says, 'O God, Thou art the MASTER and I am Thy servant.' Such a devotee enjoys only spiritual talk and spiritual deeds.  He does not enjoy the company of ungodly people.  He does not care for any work that is not of a holy nature.  So you see that God keeps the sense of differentiation even in such a devotee." 

NEIGHBOUR: "You ask us, sir, to live in the world after knowing God.  Can God really be known?"

MASTER: "God cannot be known by the sense-organs or by this mind; but He can be known by the pure mind, the mind that is free from worldiy desires."

NEIGHBOUR: "Who can know God?"

MASTER: "Right.  Who can really know Him? But as for us, it is enough to know as much of Him as we need.  What need have I of a whole well of water? One jar is more than enough for me.  An ant went to a sugar hill.  Did it need the entire hill? A grain or two of sugar was more than enough."

NEIGHBOUR: "Sir, we are like typhoid patients.  How can we be satisfied with one jar of water? We feel like knowing, the whole of God."

MASTER: "That's true.  But there is also medicine for typhoid."

NEIGHBOUR: "What is that medicine, sir?"

MASTER: "The company of holy men, repeating the name of God and singing His glories, and unceasing prayer.  I prayed to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, I don't seek knowledge.  Here, take Thy knowledge, take Thy ignorance.  Give me only pure love for Thy Lotus Feet.' I didn't ask for anything else.

"As is the disease, so must the remedy be.  The Lord says in the Gitā: 'O Arjuna, take refuge in Me.  I shall deliver you from all sins.' Take shelter at His feet: He will give you right understanding.  He will take entire responsibility for you.  Then you will get rid of the typhoid.  Can one ever know God with such a mind as this? Can one pour four seers of milk into a one-seer pot? Can we ever know God unless He lets us know Him? Therefore I say, take shelter in God.  Let Him do whatever He likes.  He is self-willed.  What power is there in a man?"

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