Once a man visited his psychologist complaining that he had committed many grievous offences. Individually and with groups of hooligans he destroyed public property and assaulted innocent victims. Now he was visited by guilt as it is bound to happen. He said his hands were smirched with blood and his mind full of remorse. One is reminded of the 'hand image' in Shakespeare's Macbeth which in a sense is a universal metaphor for this predicament. Firstly, there is the image of evil working in a group, a gang or syndicate. The witches, who embody evil, are described as going about 'hand in hand' (I.iii.32) when they meet Macbeth for the first time. Secondly, there is the individual evil committed by Macbeth in person when he kills Duncan. Macbeth's deepest desire drives him to commit this crime. But like the average criminal, Macbeth is afraid of the horrible consequences of his actions. He looks at his blood-stained hands and tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, "This is a sorry sight." (II.ii.20) He seems to want to disown his hands as they are now "hangman's hands." (II.ii.27) It virtually dawns upon most individuals to purify tarnished hands. Lady Macbeth comes up with the first suggestion, "Go, get some water, and wash this filthy witness from your hand." (II.ii.45) In fact the crime is so sinister that its evil ambience spreads into the mind of Lady Macbeth as she declares, "My hands are of your colour." (II.ii.63) But hands sullied by evil cannot be washed with "all Neptune's ocean" nor with "all the perfumes of Arabia". Lady Macbeth's plea of helplessness underscores the fact that evil will be defeated and that the moral law stands supreme. Her pathetic claim is, "What's done cannot be undone." (V.i.63) This leaves an individual with nowhere to go but to fester in a pool of guilt and agony. It 'kills sleep' and leaves one restless.
Turning to the Bhagavad Gita we find some luminous passages that offer us solutions. Lord Krishna points out, "A man should reshape himself through the power of his will. He should never let himself be degraded by his (lower) self-will; the (positive) will is the only friend of the Self, and the (negative) will is the only enemy of (reaching) the Self" (6.5). In modern times when someone came to Sri Ramakrishna with such problems he firstly appreciated the person's resolve to change. He encouraged the person to confess his or her guilt. Self-effort to change or transform oneself is the first part of the remedy. Secondly, Sri Ramakrishna wanted such persons to promise or resolve never to commit such crimes again. Repentance does not just mean regret of the past but it also implies the will to change. The Lord also tells us in the Bhagavad Gita (9.31,32) that even such sinful people who have rightly resolved and worship the Lord with unswerving devotion obtain lasting peace. When criminal tendencies are transformed into true devotion then one sheds guilt and agony and through the grace of God such a devotee never perishes. Surrender to God through earnest prayer invites the purifying grace of God to transform us. In the lives of almost all Incarnations and saints we see this transforming effect on tarnished victims who eventually attained peace.
Sri Ramakrishna compares God to a great magician. A magician ties several knots in a length of rope. He throws it to the audience requesting them to undo the knots. The knots are intriguing and cannot be opened however hard anybody tries. When the rope is returned to the magician he holds it up and in a single flip all knots are undone. Similarly God's grace can undo any evil provided there is repentance and surrender. God can undo what has already been done.
Hands are a gift from God. It is through our hands that we lead a comfortable life. A person without hands leads a wretched existence. Some people use their hands in selfless service - in nursing a patient or feeding the hungry. Lord Krishna assures such people, "The doer of good never comes to grief". By contrast those that use their hands for evil - robbery, murder, forgery, etc., enter the path of guilt, moral decadence and misery.
(In their later years, the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna would nostalgically reminisce about their days of training at the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple. The Master, through his unconditional love, created a veritable mart of joy. The following is a vivid description of the atmosphere at the Temple as portrayed by the French writer Romain Rolland.)
And so from 1881 onwards he (Sri Ramakrishna) lived at Dakshineshwar surrounded by disciples, who loved him as a father, lulled by the sweet murmur of the Ganga. The eternal song of the river, turning and flowing northwards with the incoming tide at noon, was the undercurrent of this beautiful companionship. And it mingled at dawn and sunset with the chime of bells, the blowing of conches, the melody of the flute, the clashing of cymbals and the temple hymns that punctuated the days of the gods and goddesses. The intoxicating perfume of the sacred garden was borne like incense on the breeze. Between the columns of the semicircular verandah with its sheltering awning, sails, multi-coloured like a swarm of butter-flies, could be seen passing along the river, the image of Eternity.
Before daybreak the bells softly announced the service of matins. The lights were kindled. In the hall of music the morning hymns were played by flutes accompanied by drums and cymbals. The east was not yet red before flowers had already been gathered in the garden as an offering to the gods. The disciples, who had spent the night with the Master, meditated as they sat near the edge of his bed. Ramakrishna got up and walked about singing in his sweet voice; he tenderly communed with the Mother. Then all the instruments played their symphony in concert. The disciples performed their ablutions; then returned to find the Master on the verandah; and the conversations continued overlooking the Ganga.
At noon the bells announced the end of worship in the temples of Kali and Vishnu and the twelve temples of Shiva. The sun burned down. The breeze blew from the south, the tide rose. After a meal the Master took a short rest and then the conversations began again.
The Dakshineshwar Kali Temple
At night the temple lamp-lighter kindled the lamps. One lamp burned in a corner of Ramakrishna's room where he sat absorbed. The music of conches and the temple bells announced the evening service. Under a full moon the conversations continued. But the precincts of the sanctuary were throbbing with the ceaseless waves of a different human river-pilgrims - worshippers, pandits, religious and curious persons of all sorts and conditions from the great neighbouring city or other parts of India, crowding to see and overwhelm with questions the mysterious man, who yet did not consider himself in any way remarkable. He always answered them in his charming patois with unwearied patience and that air of familiar good grace, which, without losing contact with the deep realities, allowed nothing to go unobserved in the scenes and the everyday people passing before him. He could both play the child and judge as the sage. This perfect, laughing, loving, penetrating spontaneity, to which nothing human was alien, was the chief secret of his charm. In truth such a hermit was very different from those of our Christian world! If he sought out and absorbed sorrow, it disappeared within him; nothing morose or austere could grow in his soil. The great purifier of men who could free the soul from its swaddling clothes and wash away all stain, making a saint of a Girish by his indulgent smile and his piercing and serene glance, would not admit into the air of the beautiful garden of Dakshineshwar, redolent of the scent of roses and jasmine, the morbid idea of shameful sin veiling its nakedness by an eternal preoccupation with itself. He said: 'Certain [religions] see in a sense of sin the sum total of religion. Their ideal of a devout man is one who prays, "O Lord, I am a sinner! Deign to pardon my sins!..." They forget that a sense of sin is a sign of the first and the lowest step of spiritual development. They do not take the force of habit into consideration. If you say, "I am a sinner," eternally, you will remain a sinner to all eternity.... You ought rather to repeat, "I am not bound, I am not bound. Who can bind me? I am the son of God, the King of Kings...." Make your will work and you will be free! The [fool] who repeats without stopping, "I am a slave," ends in really becoming a slave. The miserable man, who repeats tirelessly, "I am a sinner," really becomes a sinner. But that man is free who says, "I am free from the bondage of the world. I am free. Is not the Lord our Father?.." Bondage is of the mind, but freedom is also of the mind...'
He let the wind of his joy and freedom blow on all around him. And languid souls, oppressed by the weight of the tropical sky, unfolded again their faded leaves. He comforted the weariest with the words: 'The rains will come. Patience! You will become green again'.
It was the home of freed souls-those who were and those who would be - time does not count in India. The Sunday receptions often partook of the nature of little festivals, Sankirtanas, and on ordinary days his interviews with the disciples never took the form of doctrinal instruction. Doctrine was immaterial. The only essential was practice suited to each spirit, to each occasion of life with the object of drawing out the essence of life in each man, while he exercised full liberty of spirit. All means were good: Inward concentration as well as the free play of the intellect, brief ecstasies as well as rich parables, laughing stories and even the observation of the comedy of the universe by sharp and mocking eyes.
(Reprinted from: "The Life of Ramakrishna", by Romain Rolland. Published by Advaita Ashrama, India, 2005.)
A Bridge between the Ancient and the Modern - Dr M Lakshmi Kumari
(Hinduism has a rich and sacred history dating back thousands of years. The values and teachings of our ancient scriptures are timeless and have a universal relevance. Dr M Lakshmi Kumari, former President of the Vivekananda Kendra, shows us how Sri Sarada Devi made these ancient precepts relevant for the modern man.)
All of us are in a way bridges. Every father and mother, every human being is a bridge that spans two generations. Each generation has to hand over the keys to the next generation by which they can unlock their inner potentialities and possibilities. But what sort of keys do we hand over to our children? These days we have only one key, by which our material possibilities can be unlocked, made more productive and pleasurable, though not satisfactory. Within a short time that key starts rusting. With it we cannot open our homes, least of all our hearts. We seem to have lost the key by which we can unlock ourselves and through us the entire universe.
This has been happening from time immemorial and hence Sri Krishna declares, 'I take birth again and again when dharma declines and adharma gains supremacy.' When men forget their duty of handing over the key of satya and dharma, asuric forces take over and the whole society slips into decay. Avatars come to remove the rust from our keys and to hand over the right keys to us by which human welfare can be restored. What keys did Mother give us? What bridge did she construct for us so that our lives get a new meaning and become fulfilled?
Every bridge spans either the two banks of a river or the chasm between two peaks. With reference to human life, a bridge takes us from one set of values to another. Holy Mother's was such a beautiful bridge by which anybody could cross over the mighty ocean of samsara. Rarely do people of her calibre appear who can construct such a wonderful bridge. Sarada Devi was, like many of us, born and brought up in a rural household, exposed to much penury and hardship. But the rays of light of good breeding were part and parcel of her upbringing and she grew up as an extraordinarily sensitive and kind-hearted daughter. All the wonderful human qualities that mark a super-human being manifested in her effortlessly. Today we seem to have lost the fragrance of these natural character-building traits. Neither our parents nor teachers have the time or the capacity to inculcate these qualities, the hallmark of a good human being, in us. Here is something for us to contemplate - what have we lost?
Equipped though Holy Mother was from childhood with the best of materials to build the bridge of human understanding, yet there was one lacuna and that needed to be filled up. The strength of the human bridge lies in God consciousness, the realization of the Truth of the atman within and without. The Light hidden within had to be brought out. From a little known village girl she had to be transformed into the Divine Mother, to play her full part as an avatar with her husband. She had to become the Mother of the rich and poor, fallen and downtrodden, sannyasis and dacoits! For this she had to become one with the Light of knowledge, love and action. She went to Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineshwar. She was his shakti, first as his dutiful wife, then as his dedicated disciple and to manifest divine motherhood. Every word and action of hers bore the imprint of divinity. On her bridge, one is led from untruth to Truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
In the arati song of Sri Ramakrishna there is a line 'jnananjana vimalanayana vikshane moha jaya,' - the purity of Sri Ramakrishna's eyes adorned with the collyrium of knowledge dispels delusion. What was there in Mother's eyes which could transform human beings in toto? What collyrium did she use to remove the delusion in others? lt was premanjana, the collyrium of love. That was the bridge through which she drew the dacoit into her heart. Because of that premanjana in her eyes she saw everyone as her own. This is what mothers of today need to learn.
Holy Mother's biographers extol her life of absolute purity. There was not one black spot on her. Her purity was centred on the realization of Truth with its byproducts of samabhavana and samadarsitva, same-sightedness and universal love. Mother never asked for anybody's credit card of worthiness before she consoled and enriched them with her love. Those who came to rob her were themselves robbed, of their inner impurities. Let us imbibe this lesson of true love from her.
This divine vision was Sri Ramakrishna's gift to Sarada Devi when he made her part of his very being through the Shodashi Puja which marked the culmination of his sadhana. Thus Mother received the whole of his spiritual effulgence. She was the fittest recipient of this unusual legacy, because she was none other than Prakriti (Primordial Power), Parama (Supreme), Abhaya and Varada (She who grants fearlessness and fulfils desires). She was the Bhavatarini whom Sri Ramakrishna worshipped in the temple. Otherwise how could she give, in such a simple homely way, truths which rishis had realized after long and severe austerities? Even Sri Ramakrishna had to climb so many difficult steps before he could enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Divine Mother's heart.
She was a perfect being without any selfishness or self-interest or self-glorification of any kind, so her thoughts, words and actions did not cast any shadow anywhere. There was only benediction in front and blessing behind each and every movement of hers. Is it not a great lesson to those who are unhappy and dissatisfied in life?
The eternal bridge that Holy Mother made connected the ancient and the modern. How can someone who lives in the present make use of the ancient? One has to clearly understand the nature of this bridge which spans time and space with values, never dying and ever valid. Holy Mother acquired these values through extraordinary self-denial and service to Sri Ramakrishna. It was her genius that she could make it applicable for all times to come. No wonder that we find all the epithets of the great Mother of the Universe in her.
Three Facets of Truth
'Satyam sivam sundaram' - these are the ancient facets of eternal Truth that we find on the wonderful modern bridge that Holy Mother has given to us. Truth alone makes human life valuable. 'Nanyah pantha vidyate ayanaya,' there is no other way, as our rishis repeat again and again. Satyam, truth alone was dear to Mother and she learned early in life to centre her being in it. This Truth made her see everything as her own, soaked in the divinity that she herself experienced abundantly and at all times.
Modern science tries to express Oneness as interrelated, interconnected, interdependent and so on. But can it express it as aptly as 'vasudaiva kutumbakam,' the universe is one family, especially when demonstrated by an all-knowing Mother like her?
The second span is sivam - auspiciousness. Mother was the image of auspiciousness and today even her pictures radiate the same. Everything she said or touched was auspicious. All of us should keep a photo of Holy Mother somewhere in our homes to make them auspicious.
Satyam is also sundaram, Truth is beauty; Mother was beautiful. Her life exemplifies Vedantic truths that adorn human life with a rare beauty. Holy Mother never extended her hand to anybody for anything. The only thing she ever wanted was that Sri Ramakrishna fill her heart and mind with prema sudha rasa, the nectar of divine love. Sitting in the nahabat, a small room at Dakshineshwar, she became the Divine Mother and embraced humanity through her love and understanding. She shows us how to expand and be really global by assimilating truth, goodness and beauty in everyone.
We should walk on this eternal bridge which spans the ancient and the modern. Modern science has come full circle and now reverts to the concepts of voluntary simplicity, frugal consumption and so on, based on its new understanding of the interconnection of the whole universe. The Upanishadic dictum, 'tena tyaktena bhunjita,' enjoy by renouncing, provides the spiritual foundation. India has preserved these values from time immemorial.
Our ancient values based on satyam and dharma can even today provide all that is necessary to make human life worthwhile. Fortunately for us our avatars continue to provide bridges making use of the ancient values so that even today we can cross the ocean of samsara. Let us pray to Holy Mother to give us courage and strength of conviction to use the wonderful bridge that she has built for us.
(Reprinted from: "Eternal Mother"; published by Sri Sarada Math, India, 2004)
Karma-Yoga says, first destroy the tendency to project this tentacle of selfishness, and when you have the power of checking it, hold it in and do not allow the mind to get into the ways of selfishness. Then you may go out into the world and work as much as you can. Mix everywhere, go where you please; you will never be contaminated with evil. There is the lotus leaf in the water; the water cannot touch and adhere to it; so will you be in the world. This is called "Vairagya", dispassion or non-attachment. I believe I have told you that without non-attachment there cannot be any kind of Yoga. Non-attachment is the basis of all the Yogas. The man who gives up living in houses, wearing fine clothes, and eating good food, and goes into the desert, may be a most attached person. His only possession, his own body, may become everything to him; and as he lives he will be simply struggling for the sake of his body. Non-attachment does not mean anything that we may do in relation to our external body, it is all in the mind. The binding link of "I and mine" is in the mind. If we have not this link with the body and with the things of the senses, we are non-attached, wherever and whatever we may be. A man may be on a throne and perfectly non-attached; another man may be in rags and still very much attached. First, we have to attain this state of nonattachment and then to work incessantly. Karma-Yoga gives us the method that will help us in giving up all attachment, though it is indeed very hard.
Here are the two ways of giving up all attachment. The one is for those who do not believe in God, or in any outside help. They are left to their own devices; they have simply to work with their own will, with the powers of their mind and discrimination, saying, "I must be non-attached". For those who believe in God there is another way, which is much less difficult. They give up the fruits of work unto the Lord; they work and are never attached to the results. Whatever they see, feel, hear, or do, is for Him. Let us stand aside and think that we are only servants obeying the Lord, our Master, and that every impulse for action comes from Him every moment. Whatever thou worshippest, whatever thou doest, give up all unto Him and be at rest. Let us be at peace, perfect peace, with ourselves and give up our whole body and mind and everything as an eternal sacrifice unto the Lord. Instead of the sacrifice of pouring oblations into the fire, perform the one great sacrifice day and night - the sacrifice of your little self.
President's Page: Lead us to the Light - Swami Vimokshananda
(Diwali is a joyous festival celebrated by Hindus throughout the world. Whilst we participate in the merriment of this occasion, we should bear in mind the deeper significance of Diwali - "the removal of darkness of ignorance by the light of knowledge". The lessons we learn from the following article should be borne in mind throughout the year.)
Om asato ma sat gamaya
Tamaso ma jothir gamaya
Mrityor ma amritam gamaya
From untruth (O Lord) lead me to truth. From (darkness of ignorance) lead me to light (of knowledge). From death lead me to immortality.
~ Brihadaranyakopanishad
Diwali is indeed a glorious and colourful festival that is celebrated by all Hindus internationally. How Diwali unites and brings people and families together is a matter of experience of the millions. The beautiful array of clay lamps in all Hindu households creates an atmosphere of love, warmth, sharing, and more importantly, reminds us of the existence of God in all beings. Therefore during this auspicious time, we should all try and improve ourselves spiritually.
At this point, three important facts come to my mind: tyaga (sacrifice), seva (service) and prema (love).
Diwali has become an occasion for charity of all sorts. If you give love, even if you do not give much of anything else, it does not matter. And however much you may give materially, if it is not done with love, it does not mean much. So it is love that makes all giving meaningful. I would like to relate a story of how love of virtuous deeds can bring about blessings.
Once upon a time the village of Nagpur in India was experiencing famine. There was such a scarcity of food that many people were starving and dying of hunger. A widow named Kamala and her little daughter, Kanama lived in this village. They were poor and had no means of earning money. The mother fell ill suddenly and she was worried about her little daughter. The little girl assured her that she will be fine.
Kanama set out to beg food for her ailing mother. She tried begging at several households with no luck. Exhausted, the little girl finally rested under a tree. In the distance she saw a lady making roti (bread). Kanama ran to her and begged for a piece of roti. So, the lady offered her one piece of bread and Kanama accepted the bread gratefully and she said, "O, mother! My mother has not eaten anything for the last week, if only I can get one more piece of bread, I will really be grateful." The kind lady gave her another piece of bread. Kanama was returning home happily. On the way she saw a hungry dog looking for food. "O! What a pity! The dog cannot beg for food!" she thought, and lovingly offered the dog one piece of bread. The dog ate the bread happily.
When Kanama reached home, she narrated the incident to her mother. Kanama's mother was happy to know her daughter was so compassionate. As they were about to eat the remaining piece of bread, they heard a voice at the door, "O mother! I am dying of hunger, please give me something to eat."
The virtuous Kamala said, "Someone is suffering from hunger, give away my share". The compassionate little Kanama said, "How can this poor beggar appease his hunger with half a piece of bread? Let me give him my share as well."
The beggar ate with great relish and said to Kanama, "May God bless you, my child." When the beggar left, both the mother and daughter fainted from hunger.
Then Kamala had a dream in which Goddess Lakshmi, the divine consort of Lord Vishnu appeared to her and said, "O Kamala! Even though you and your daughter were starving, both of you lovingly gave away whatever you had to the hungry dog and the famished beggar. It was I who appeared in these forms to test you. I am very pleased with your loving concern for others. May you have enough wealth and live happily."
Their meritorious act brought rain to the village. The people of Nagpur were relieved of the sufferings due to the prema, seva and tyaga of the mother-daughter duo. This story shows us all, how God's grace overflows to those who sacrifice all in the service of others done in absolute love.
Mother Lakshmi
Let us now look at an incident from the life of Sri Ramakrishna. A glorious illustration of how a most sinful person can become righteous and attain the highest illumination and peace through the grace of the Supreme Spirit is seen in the life of Girish Chandra Ghosh, the famous actor-dramatist and a great house-holder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. According to his own statement, there was no sin that Girish did not commit. At one time he considered religion a fraud. Later, however, a great change came over him and there grew a deep yearning for spiritual light and peace. It was then that he was drawn to Sri Ramakrishna. Gradually his mind became purified, though he had to go a long way. Once the following conversation took place:
Girish : "Sir, please bless me."
Master : "Have faith in the Divine Mother, and you will attain everything."
Girish : "But I am a sinner."
Master : "The wretch who constantly harps on sin becomes a sinner."
Girish : "Sir, the very ground where I sit becomes unholy."
Master : "How can you say that? Suppose a light is brought into a room that had been dark a thousand years, does it illumine the room little by little, or in a flash?"
May the light of the lamp burn brightly in our hearts throughout the year, but most especially on this holy occasion of Diwali!
To the Ramakrishna
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