Nirvana 2015 Issue 86 (Jul-Sep)

ISSUE No. 86
JUL – SEP 2015
ISSUE No. 86
JUL – SEP 2015
RAMAKRISHNA MISSION
SINGAPORE
MCI (P) 033/09/2014
ISSN0218-7183
RAMAKRISHNA MISSION
SINGAPORE
MCI (P) 033/09/2014
ISSN0218-7183
State of Spiritual enlightenment or illumination. Nirvana releases humans from
the cycle of birth, suffering, death and all forms of worldly bondage.
In this issue...
Pearls of Wisdom
1
Editorial
2
Fault Finding
3
Counselling Work
11
Sri Rama and Sri Ramakrishna
15
Cultivation of Strength and Fearlessness
20
Edited and Published by Swami Muktirupananda, President, Ramakrishna Mission,
179 Bartley Road, Singapore 539784 Tel: 6288 9077 Fax: 6288 5798.
email: [email protected], Website: www.ramakrishna.org.sg
Print Production: EAZI Printing Pte Ltd
Pearls of Wisdom
Uddhava Gita
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Śrī bhagavān uvāca
The Lord said:
Caring for nothing has been called the highest and the
fullest well-being. Therefore the man who has no desires,
and cares for naught, attains devotion to Me.
Merits and defects, arising from the performance of acts
enjoined and prohibited, do not affect those saints who
are exclusively devoted to Me, who are of an even mind,
and who have realised the Being (the Paramatman) who
is beyond the intellect.
Those who thus practise these means (three yogas)
to My attainment, which I have just taught, attain to My
abode, which is all bliss, and also realise the Supreme
Brahman.
(To be continued)
Uddhava Gita 15 (35 - 37)
11
Editorial
Significance of Om
Om is the sound symbol of Brahman. It is considered holy and
powerful word by Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It
has been highly commended in the Vedas, Upanishads and the
Gita. These scriptures advise seekers to chant Om and meditate
on it to realize truth. Sri Krishna says in the Gita he is pranava
among words. Om consists of three letters a,u,m. The letter a
stands for beginning (adi), u represents progress (utkarsha) and m
stands for dissolution (miti). Therefore, Om signifies the power of
God which creates, sustains and dissolves the universe.
According to Swami Vivekananda, the first a letter is the rootsound starts from abdomen, u rolls from the source to throat and
mouth and m ends with closed lips. Thus ‘Om’ represents the
whole process of sound-producing. It is the origin of all the various
sounds. All words have come from Om therefore it is called
Shabda Brahman.
Hinduism states that creation is a cyclic process going on
eternally. The idea of creation exists in God’s cosmic mind before
the beginning of new cycle of creation. Then He utters the words
denoting various classes of objects and beings, and creates the
corresponding forms. Names come first and their forms later. For
example, the Bible giving an account of creation of the world
(Genesis) states: God said, “Let there be light” and there was
light. God also said, “Let there be firmament, waters, vegetation
and living creatures”. So they all came into existence. All these
objects existed in God’s mind as ideas. No creation is possible
without an idea in the mind. Cosmic mind and human mind work
on the same line. First idea comes to our mind and that idea
expresses itself or manifests through words. Without words it just
remains as an unmanifest idea.
Hence the entire creation proceeds from the basic sound OM. So
all words or sounds are included in Om. The source of it is God.
Therefore it is the best name of God. Sages call God by various
names. Om represents all names of God and it is His eternal
name.
2
Fault Finding
Swami Muktirupananda
T
sharply reprimanded and criticized
them.
Their actions further
deepen our confusion and shake
our resolve. So how to reconcile
their actions with their teachings
and what is the sure way to benefit
from their advice?
here is a famous saying of
Holy Mother which we often
hear and read but seldom follow.
We only remember the meaning of
her words but miss the spirit
behind. Thus we lose something
precious in life and remain the
same. Mother said, “I tell you one
thing, if you want peace, do not
find fault with others. Rather see
your own faults.”
She further
added, “Do not look for faults in
others or your own eyes will
become faulty.”
In fact, there is no problem at all
as it appears on the cursory
glance. We have to go a little
deeper into the meaning of
Mother’s advice and grasp its real
import. It is obvious that if parents
or teachers do not find faults with
or blemishes in their children or
students there will be no chance
for correction, no scope for
improvement
and
progress.
Children are innocent and they are
ignorant about what is right or
wrong, what is good or bad. It is
the responsibility of the elders to
put them on the right path so that
they do not face unnecessary
difficulties and foolishly create
troubles for others.
Well, the saying appears to be
simple but the problem is, how to
live in the world without finding
fault with or shortcoming in
others? We live in human society
and are in constant contact with
other people either within family or
outside.
We do not lead an
isolated life alone in an island or in
a solitary place. Everyday we
cannot avoid our relationship with
others, so how can we stop
noticing, pointing out imperfections
in others?
When we hear
Mother’s advice naturally we
become puzzled as how to follow
it in day-to-day life. Moreover,
there are number of instances
which show Mother as well as Sri
Ramakrishna
who
carefully
noticed shortcomings in devotees
and disciples and in some cases
So also our elders and well
wishers draw our attention to our
faults and ask us to rectify them.
Govt too brings out many rules
and
laws
and
if
anyone
transgresses them punishes him.
Similarly society and religion
enforce their own code of conduct.
In collective life as we live with
3
The trouble with us is that we
suffer from a mistaken idea that
we are near perfect or flawless.
We are better than others in all
respects – morally, intellectually
and
even
materially.
Consequently a majority of us
become victims of competition and
comparison. In fact, these two are
the breeding ground of the
disease
of
faultfinding
and
carping. When we compete and
compare ourselves with others we
have to show our rivals in poor
light and criticize them with glee.
Otherwise how can we get delight
in showing our greatness? There
is one common trait in all human
beings that each thinks that he is
special and important than others.
So in order to catch the attention
of others he pushes aside others
to be ahead of everyone.
other people we have to be careful
of our behavior and way of life.
One thing we have to accept it is
easy to point out the defects of
others and very unpleasant or
rather painful to admit one’s own
shown to us by others. Somehow
we invent excuses and try to
wriggle out. When we closely look
into the problem it seems none
can avoid noticing flaws in others
and at the same time cannot
escape being criticized for our own
drawbacks. If such is the case
then how shall we act?
In truth, faultfinding itself is not a
problem but it lies in our motive
and attitude. When we speak ill of
others or talk of defects of others
what is our real intention behind it
and by doing so what we are
going to accomplish? With little
patience if anyone watches the
underlying motive it becomes
clear.
In looking for faults of
others there are two main
purposes:
The easy way to show we surpass
others and are important is to pull
them down by showcasing their
mistakes and weakness. We think
that puts us on a higher pedestal
than our rivals. It is a vanity and to
satisfy this empty vanity we suffer
and burn inside. Here is the test if
we feel satisfaction and pleasure
in talking about the darkside of
other people, it is a bad and
harmful habit. It is playing in tune
with the foolish, bloated ego. This
ego is the cause of all our miseries
and restlessness.
We have
1)
The act of belittling others
often brings a false satisfaction we
are better than and superior to
others. It is the delusion of the
inflated ego or self-image. Such
action is always harmful to us and
others. It spreads – bitterness,
anger, hatred and thus pollutes
the minds of people. It will lead to
quarrels and fights.
2
4
concerned with the well-being of
others.
enough evidence in our Puranas
and other texts how demons and
kings with overblown ego brought
their own destruction.
Holy
Mother advises against this
morbid tendency.
Jesus Christ
said, “Judge not be not judged”.
Parents, teachers and elders
experience pain, anxiety and
uneasiness when they find
undesirable shortcomings, harmful
traits in those who are close to
them.
Such defects if left
uncorrected will be detrimental
and troublesome both personally
and collectively. So they work to
weed them out for the good of
others. None can blame such
compassionate
acts.
Sri
Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi did
find some defects in disciples and
devotees and tried to correct them
sometimes gently and sometimes
by harsh words. Had they not
done so these devotees would not
have changed their lives and
made progress.
So with right
attitude, good intention, and love
finding fault is not a problem, on
the contrary, a good work which
makes others better and happy.
2)
This
faultfinding
or
nitpicking has benign aspect also.
Parents, teachers, wise elders and
other
well-wishers
carefully
observe the drawbacks, defects
specially of those whom they care
for. If they ignore they fail in their
duty, it is their fault. When we see
unruly children and undisciplined
students, we naturally blame
parents and teachers.
They
cannot escape from the task under
the pretext of finding faults is
wrong. Imagine the damage this
apathy will cause the younger
generation.
So seeing the
drawbacks with a good motive and
correcting them is justified. One
cannot flee from such tasks.
There lies a gulf of difference
between the two attitudes or
motives. The first one is a morbid
sense of satisfaction and pleasure
in downgrading others in order to
show one’s superiority, the second
one is a wholesome feeling of care
and concern for the good of
others. In the first kind we are
concerned with our false vanity
and in the second kind we are
Mother never liked nor tolerated
selfish and egoistic behavior of
people whenever she noticed
them. First she gently corrected
them and if they persisted to
behave in the same old way she
did not hesitate to use sharp
words to change them. Her only
intention, born of affection, was to
straighten any crookedness of a
3
5
home Harish began to chase me.
He was then insane. His wife had
brought about this condition.
There was no one in the house
and there was no way to escape.
In a hurry, I began to circle round
the barn. Harish pursued me.
After going round for seven times,
I could run no longer. Then I
stopped and stood firm and
assuming my own form laid him on
the ground, placed my knee on his
chest and slapped him hard. He
began to grasp for breath. My
fingers became red. Harish was
cured and became calm and soon
after left for Vrindavan and after
sometime became normal.
person so that he could make
progress in social as well as in
spiritual life. And he would not
hurt people wantonly and add
more misery in their lives.
After the passing away of Sri
Ramakrishna Mother went to live
at Kamarpukur. She lived in that
village
under
most
difficult
circumstances, suffering from
poverty and villagers’ uncharitable
criticism.
During her stay at Kamarpukur
one very troublesome incident
occurred. Harish, a devotee of Sri
Ramakrishna, had stayed with the
master from time to time and
frequently visited his young
monastic disciples.
His wife
greatly frightened by his lack of
interest in family had given him
secretly some medicine to attract
his
mind
to
worldly
life.
Unfortunately it had affected his
brain. In that deranged state he
came to Kamarpukur and used to
behave in a strange way. Mother
could immediately understand the
unsound state of his mind. One
day he really became insane and
dangerous. Mother described the
tragic scene of the day in her own
words.
Mother who was known for her
modesty, gentleness and kindness
could, at critical moments, assume
the form of a lioness and by way
of punishment cure the fatal
disease of some. It is like a
surgeon who surgically removes
the affected parts and restores
health. For the good of others
even the pain of punishment
sometimes becomes a blessing.
One slap from Mother saved a
mad
devotee
from
lifelong
suffering.
Mother on her way from Kolkata to
Jayarambati used to rest at a
“One day I was returning from a village Koalpara. In course of time
visit to a neighbour and as I devotees built a small Ashrama for
entered the compound of our the convenience of Mother and
4
6
They knew they could find shelter
with her or in other centres. So he
requested her to persuade them to
come back and tell the other
centres not to encourage and
accommodate them. Hearing this
Mother flared up and in anger said
in a loud voice: “How foolish you
are to mention to me these things.
Do you mean to say they should
not get shelter at any other place!
They are my
children
and
have
taken
refuge at the
feet
of
Sri
Ramakrishna.
I can never do
such a thing.
Love alone is
the essential
thing.
How
can you run
the Ashrama
without
kindness and
sympathy? If
you scold your
own children
too hard they
will leave you.”
The
head
realized
his
shortcoming
and
felt
ashamed and
fell at her feet.
her party.
The head of this
Ashrama, at one time, was not
kind to the inmates and demanded
hard labour from them. Gradually
his unsympathetic attitude forced
some of the inmates to leave and
seek shelter under her and other
centres. The head did not like this
and complained to Mother that his
workers no longer obeyed him
because they had become smart.
5
7
be happy and prosperous.”
Mother always worked and prayed
for the wellbeing of all. In no
uncertain terms she criticized such
utter selfishness.
One day Mother was meditating in
her room at Udbodhan house.
Across the lane there was open
space and a few labourers lived in
huts there with their families. One
of the men began to beat his wife
mercilessly and abuse her.
Though a child was in her arms he
kicked her with such force that she
fell down. Again he started kicking
her. Mother could not continue
with her meditation. She hurried
to the porch of the second floor
and stood there. She raised her
voice and admonished the man:
“You rogue! Are you going to kill
her outright? I am afraid she is
already dead. Shame on you.”
The moment the man looked at
the flushed face of Mother, he
hung his head in utter shame.
Afterwards he went to his wife and
pacified her. Mother saw this and
feeling contented returned to her
room.
Sri Ramakrishna was also a stern
Master. Whenever he observed a
weakness in one’s character
discreetly he helped that person to
overcome it.
He even taught
devotees how to examine and
bargain before buying anything
from the market. He did not like
carelessness and sloppy way of
doing things. He himself was very
meticulous in everything he did.
He trained and disciplined his
young disciples thoroughly though
sometimes it was painful. We
know once he slapped Rani
Rasmani when he noticed her
mind was distracted by worldly
thoughts. Once a devotee came
to Dashineswar and behaved
rudely.
This behavior irritated
Swami Adbhutananda, who was
present there. He got angry and
scolded the devotee harshly. Sri
Ramakrishna
observed
everything. When the devotee left
he called Adbhutananda and said,
“It is not good to speak harshly to
those who come here. They are
tormented with worldly problems.
If they come here and are scolded
for their shortcomings where will
they go? Never say anything to
cause pain to another. Tomorrow
Once a doctor’s wife came to see
Mother and after saluting she
prayed, “Mother kindly bless me
so that my doctor husband may
have a good practice”. Hearing
these words Mother was shocked
and very much pained. In an
angry tone said, “My daughter how
could you pray to me such a silly
thing. Should I grant your prayer
that people should fall sick, that
they should suffer! Well, dear, I
will never do that. Let all be well,
6
8
another and
crushed.
you go to him and apologize”
Swami Adbhutananda had short
temper and Sri Ramakrishna
wanted him to get rid of that
deficiency.
his
pride
was
Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother
were multi-sided teachers with
universal outlook. Many devotees
who came to them suffered from
one-sided concept of religion. And
they were fanatic in their beliefs
and prejudices.
Some were
sectarians, some had faith only in
ritual observances, few were
against image worship, and few
ridiculed the formless aspect of
God.
How many varieties of
devotees came with their strange
ideas! Both of them had to work
patiently on these devotees to
make them broad-minded and
liberal in outlook. Great ones find
fault with us to make us perfect
like them.
Mahendranath Gupta was product
of Kolkata University and took
great pride in book-learning and
scholarship. When he went to see
Sri Ramakrishna first time he
expected to meet a very learned
saint. He himself was a well-read
teacher.
Before entering the
saint’s room he asked the maid
who was standing outside, did
Paramahamsa read many books?
The maid answered, books, oh,
dear no! all books were on his
tongue. M was startled to know
Sri Ramakrishna read no books.
He wondered was it possible for a
man to realize God and become
great without being a scholar? He
believed God-realization mainly
depended on the acquisition of
vast book-knowledge. During their
conversation Sri Ramakrishna
elicited some personal information
from ‘M’. He asked how was his
wife, what was her nature and so
on. ‘M’ replied that she was all
right, but ignorant. Hearing this
the saint retorted cuttingly, “Oh.
you are a man of knowledge!” To
Sri Ramakrishna to know God is
knowledge and not to know Him is
ignorance.
Thus “M’’s ego
received severe blows one after
The question is how to overcome
and get rid of this stubborn bad
habit of looking to the dark side of
other people? Most of us seldom
see any good or bright side in
them. People always appear to us
having many flaws. It is sheer
egotism, a display of one’s selfimportance. This unhealthy habit
not only pollutes the mind but
greatly disturbs it. Such a mind
gradually descends to meanness.
Such carping persons cannot
make any progress nor can have a
good relationship with others nor
become better. They remain the
7
9
same
disgruntled,
bitter he was discussing religious
humanbeings,
spreading subjects with a gathering of two
hundred people. In the course of
everywhere negative vibrations.
discussion he started praising a
On
Patanjali
in
his
yogasutras certain person at length.
suggests how to free oneself from hearing it a member of the
this obsession. He says ‘Vitarka gathering said to Swamiji, “But
badhane pratipaksha bhavanam’ Swamiji that gentleman has no
(II-33)
Vitarka
means
evil respect for you!” Swamiji at once
tendencies, inimical thoughts. replied, “Is it necessary to respect
Whenever a tendency arises in the me in order to become a good
mind to belittle or criticize man?” The man was immediately
someone then raise an opposite silenced.
thought of praise or appreciation.
Instead of dwelling on the defects Swami Ranganathanandaji always
of other person see his good used to see positive side of every
qualities and appreciate and person and everything while
He would
highlight them. Try to see some ignoring the flaws.
good in others, recognize it and admire and encourage the bright
tell others about it. That way we side of a person’s character and
encourage
anyone
uplift his mind and help him grow. never
In turn we also lift our minds and criticizing others in his presence.
learn many good things from the He used to receive quite a number
good traits of others. People are of books sent for his perusal. As it
not totally bad they too possess was not possible for him to read all
good qualities. We have to ignore these books so he would give
bad ones and try to absorb good some to a junior monk to read and
ones. This pure intention raises tell his views. The junior monk
us to the higher dimension of life, after reading used to tell him they
expands our heart and broadens were no good and stress on the
points.
our minds. Our ego is pushed to negative
the background as a result peace Ranganathanandaji would feel sad
and ask, “Don’t you find even a
and joy come.
few good points in them? Try to
This
Following examples teach us a see some good points.”
opened the eyes of the junior
good lesson.
monk and changed his attitude.
Swami Vivekananda was in
Lahore on a lecture tour. One day
8
10
Counselling Work
Lau Hon Shin
I
t is a privilege for me to share
about the work that we do at
WINGS from a counsellor’s
perspective and I hope that with
this sharing, it would provide a
better insight on the impact that
counselling can do for our clients.
Counselling is a type of “TalkTherapy” that allows a person to
talk about his/her problems and
feelings in a NURTURING and
SAFE environment. It is an
EMPATHIC
process/experience
help clients to overcome their
negative emotions and thoughts,
cope
with
crisis,
change
undesirable
behaviours
and
improve mental and emotional
well-being.
clients to share their
vulnerable self with a
stranger especially when
have
to
talk
about
inadequacies, shame, guilt
pains.
most
total
they
their
and
As a counsellor at WINGS, our
role is one of several hats, we
sometimes have to juggle between
being
the
encourager,
the
comforter, the confronter, the
advocate,
a
companion,
a
mediator,
a
facilitator
and
ultimately
an
“EMPATHIC
LISTENER”. We do not judge,
decide or tell clients what to do but
help them come to their own
decisions, solutions and closures
for the best of their well-being.
Many a time, clients have come in We believe that families are the
for counselling feeling that nobody basis for the well-being of children
understands them, they feel alone and youth and have thus taken a
and unsupported. It is not easy for
11
systemic approach to helping
them by ensuring that the
functioning of the child is taken
care of and relevant intervention is
rendered to help parents cope with
daily stressors. We try our best to
engage parents/family members in
the change process so that
changes can be sustained after
counselling ceases.
It is a common misconception that
counselling work only involves
talking to clients in a counselling
room, it is far from the truth.
Counselling at WINGS involves
many other areas of work like
 case
conferencing
with
schools
and
community
partners,
 giving talks and conducting
workshops to impart and
provide psycho-education to
the community,
12
 Doing Home Study Reports to
help
couples
to
adopt
children,
 making home visits to counsel
immobile clients or clients
who require our attention at
their homes,
 school observation for our
preschool clients to observe
their behaviours in their
natural settings,
 attending network meetings
with ministries and other
agencies to keep abreast with
the community resources
available that we can use to
help our clients,
 join research or focus groups
for the betterment of national
programmes and policies as
well as
 Distribution of food rations
from food banks to needy
clients.
Every client is different and I
remember a case of a client who
came in for counselling after
wanting to kill herself because she
was not able to handle the stress
of raising her 18and 15 yr old
sons. Being a single mother, she
worked two jobs as a saleswoman
in the day and waiter by night to
support her family. She missed the
time she could spend with her
children who were at home
unsupervised and addicted to
computer games.
To make matters worse, her
younger son would run away from
home for days during the school
term and would only come home
for money. Her older son was
easily angered and would beat his
younger brother badly causing
serious injury whenever he was
provoked. The client would go to
work and fear receiving phone
calls from her younger son’s
school informing her of his
absence and she would constantly
worry about him getting hurt by his
older brother. For months she
wasn’t able to function at work and
worried about losing her job. She
lost control of her children and
was overwhelmed by the burden
she had to carry by herself.
lack of emotional support and
teenage parenting issues. It took
six months to help her regain her
confidence as a person and
mother followed by another three
months to help her rebuild her
relationship with her children.
First it involved helping her older
son to understand what his mother
was going through and for him to
be part of the solution, so that he
could reduce the stress caused to
his mum, give her peace of mind
by not hurting his brother and also
help her with the housework and
taking care of his younger brother.
Helping client’s older son also
involved working with through his
anger and focus on achieving his
goals in his polytechnic education.
Working with client’s younger son
was more challenging as he was
reluctant to come to WINGS for
counselling and it required me to
get his school counsellor and
teachers to provide emotional
support in school, so that
whenever he went to school he
could at least have someone he
could talk to.
Counselling the client involved
managing her anxieties, validating
Working with her was a challenge her sufferings and assuring her
as it was a multi-tiered problem that there was a way to move on.
with
issues
ranging
from This helped her in taking charge of
her emotions and she was finally
depression, financial difficulties,
13
able to focus on what was most
important at that time, which was
to keep the family afloat. Helping
her to rebuild the relationship with
her older son was instrumental in
building support for her and she
was able to function much better
after that. With his help, she was
able to focus on her work and
come home feeling less stressed
and less agitated. It enabled her to
have a peaceful mind and a more
stable temperament and to
improve her relationship with her
sons.
Her younger son saw the changes
in his mother and brother and had
since returned to school and was
able to complete his secondary
school studies. She now has a full
time job that pays much better and
she is able to spend more time
with her family.
Her
family
benefitted
from
counselling and she has recently
referred her sister to seek
counselling for her marital issues
believing that counselling can offer
her an opportunity to salvage her
marriage.
This was a tough case that could
only be done with the help of
colleagues and supervisors who
gave their inputs and help in
managing the case. At WINGS,
we work as a team to support
each other, tapping on our various
expertise and experience to help
clients holistically. This enables us
to give the best care to our clients
and I am thankful to the team at
WINGS.
On a personal note, it is a privilege
to be able to journey with clients. I
find it an enriching and humbling
experience to be invited into the
world of clients who trust us to
help
them
through
life’s
challenges. It is through this
sincere and genuine experience in
counselling that we continue to
grow as counsellors and continue
to serve our community. For our
clients have this hope that there is
help available that allows them to
move on with life’s challenges.
14
Sri Rama and Sri Ramakrishna
Jayasekhar
(Continued from the previous issue)
The unity of Sri Rama, Sita and manifestations and in all spiritual
Hanuman in Sri Ramakrishna
moods. His mind was naturally
drawn to Raghuvir his family deity
Sri Ramakrishna became the and he yearned to have His
priest of the Kali Temple of vision. Knowing of the Lord’s love
Dakshineswar in 1856 at the age for his devotee Mahavir or
of twenty upon the demise of his Hanuman, he began to adopt
attitude
in
his
brother Ramkumar. He plunged Hanuman’s
into intense austerities forgetting sadhana. Sri Ramakrishna thus
the world around him to realise the became the supreme servant of
reality of the Mother whom he was Sri Rama and soon attained
worshipping
so
devotedly. His intense
yearning and singleminded
devotion
culminated in his first
vision of the Mother
when he was on the
brink of sacrificing his
life at the altar of the
Mother. Not satisfied
with that, he continued
with his unheard of
austerities until the
Mother became his
constant and eternal
companion with whom
he could talk, sing and
play.
Yet even then he was
not
satisfied.
He
wanted to commune
with the Divine in all its
different
15
perfection in his sadhana of
Dasya Bhava, the spiritual attitude
of a servant to the Lord. About
this
attitude
of
his
Sri
Ramakrishna himself said, “By
constant meditation on the
glorious character of Hanuman I
totally forgot my own identity. At
that time I had to walk, take my
food and do all other actions like
Mahavir. I did not force myself to
do so but spontaneously they
happened. I tied my cloth around
my waist letting a portion of it
hang down like a tail and moved
about jumping from place to place
instead of walking. I ate nothing
but fruits and roots, which again I
did not feel inclined to eat if they
were peeled. I spent much of my
time on trees and called out,
‘Raghuvir, Raghuvir!’ in a deep,
solemn voice. My eyes became
restless like those of monkeys.
And the strangest thing was that
the lower end of my backbone
(the coccyx) lengthened by nearly
an inch. In course of time it slowly
resumed its normal size when that
mood of my mind had ceased.”
The culmination of this period of
sadhana was a wonderful vision,
so exceedingly vivid and different
from previous visions that it
remained fresh in his memory. Sri
Ramakrishna himself described it
to his disciples as follows: “One
day at that time I was sitting under
the Panchavati – not meditating,
merely sitting – when an
incomparable, effulgent female
figure appeared before me
illuminating the whole place. It
was not that figure alone that I
saw then, but also the trees and
plants of the Panchavati, the
Ganga and all other objects. I saw
that the figure was that of a
woman; for, there were in her no
signs of a goddess, such as the
possession of three eyes, etc.
But the extraordinary, spirited and
solemn expression of that face,
manifesting
love,
sorrow,
compassion, and endurance, was
not generally seen even in the
figures of goddesses. Looking
graciously at me, that god-like
woman was advancing towards
me with a slow, steady gait. I
wondered who she might be,
when a black-faced monkey came
suddenly and nobody knew
whence, and fell prostrate at her
feet and someone within my mind
exclaimed, ‘Sita, Sita who was all
sorrow all her life, Sita the
daughter of King Janaka, Sita to
whom Rama was her very life!’
Saying ‘Mother’ repeatedly, I was
then going to fling myself at her
feet, when she came quickly and
entered this (showing his own
body). Overwhelmed with joy and
wonder, I lost all consciousness
and fell down. Before that, I had
had no other vision in that manner
16
without meditating or thinking.
That was the first vision of its kind.
I have been suffering like Sita all
my life, perhaps because my first
vision with the naked eye was of
her, Sita, whose life from the start
was full of sufferings.” Swami
Saradananda said to some
(including the translator of his
book the Leela Prasanga) that
Sita made a gift of her smile to the
Master, so those who saw the
Master smile knew how she
smiled.
Thus did Sri Rama become one
with Sita Devi and Hanuman in Sri
Ramakrishna.
The Leela of Ramlala
The year was 1864 and Sri
Ramakrishna was twenty eight
years old. One day there came to
the Dakshineswar temple a
strange sadhu. His hair was
completely matted.
He spoke
little, but his face manifested an
inner joy. In his possession was a
small brass image of Sri
Ramachandra as a child. People
could see that he engaged himself
daily in serving and worshipping
that image. But to uninitiated eyes
that was all it appeared to be, the
worship of an image of God in
metal.
Not so to Sri Ramakrishna.
Himself a master of all spiritual
moods, his keen insight pierced
the gross, external realm and saw
that worship of Ramlala (the name
of the image of the boy Sri Rama)
as it truly was. To Jatadhari (the
name given by Ramakrishna to
the ascetic) it was no mere brass
image, but the child Ramachandra
himself, who lived with him and
accepted his service. As he
advanced in his sadhana, with the
passage of time the vision of
Ramachandra had become more
intense and continued for long
periods, till at last it had become
as vivid and continuous as
ordinary objects of sight. Thus
engaged in loving communion with
the living child Ramlala, Jatadhari
travelled at pleasure to the various
places of pilgrimage, until Divine
Providence directed his steps to
the Dakshineswar Temple.
The spiritual realisations of Sri
Ramakrishna readily made him
recognise in Jatadhari a fellow
pilgrim of a high order. He had
therefore a great respect for the
monk and joyfully supplied him
with all the articles necessary for
his maintenance and of the
service of Ramlala. The long
hours spent with him observing his
devoted service generated in
Ramakrishna
the
mood
of
maternal affection towards that
divine child, so much so that it
made him sit beside the image of
17
Ramlala and look at it so intently day with the Baba, and kept
that he did not know how the time gazing on Ramlala.”
slipped away.
“As days passed on, Ramlala's
Urged by the irresistible devotional love for me went on increasing. As
mood of Vatsalya (looking upon long as I remained with the Baba,
God as one’s child) he now Ramlala felt happy - he played
became anxious to be initiated by and sported; but as soon as I
a Guru in a mantra befitting this came away from that place to my
mood. Himself master of the room, he also followed me
mantra of the Divine child, immediately there. He did not
Jatadhari came to know the remain with the sadhu, although I
eagerness of Ramakrishna and forbade him to come. I at first
gladly initiated him in the mantra thought it was perhaps a fancy of
of Sri Rama, his chosen ideal. mine. How could it be otherwise?
Merged in the sadhana of that Could Ramlala love me more than
mantra Ramakrishna succeeded the Baba who had been loving
in the course of a few days in and serving him tenderly all these
having the divine vision of the years? Impossible! But of what
I
child Rama constantly. Let us hear avail were these thoughts?
from the Master himself of the actually saw - just as I see you
consequences of his inspiring before me - that Ramlala
accompanied me dancing, now
vision and experience.
preceding, now following me.
“The Baba was serving the image Sometimes he importuned me to
for a long time. He took it with him carry him in my arms. Again, when
wherever he went. He cooked I took him on my lap, he would by
whatever he got by bhiksha and no means remain there. He would
offered the cooked food to it. That go down to run hither and thither,
was not all; he actually saw that collect flowers in thorny jungles, or
Ramlala ate, or wished to eat go to the Ganga to swim and
something, or wanted to go for a splash water there. I said over and
walk,
or
insisted
on
the over again, ‘My child, don't do
satisfaction of a fancy, and so on. that, you will get blisters on your
In the company of the image he soles if you run in the sun. Do not
was beside himself with bliss and remain in water so long, you will
always remained inebriated.
I catch cold and get fever.’ But he
also saw Ramlala doing all that. I would not listen, however much I
sat all the twenty-four hours of the might forbid him. Unconcerned, he
18
would go on with his pranks, as if I
were speaking to someone else.
He would sometimes grin and look
at me with his two eyes, beautiful
like the petals of a lotus, or carry
on his pranks with a vengeance.
He would pout his lips and
grimace and make faces at me. I
would then actually be angry and
scold him, ‘You rascal, wait, I will
give you a sound beating today.’
Saying so, I would pull him away
from the sun or from the water,
cajoling him by giving this thing or
that, and then ask him to play
within the room. Again, finding it
impossible to restrain his pranks, I
would sometimes give him a slap
or two. Thus beaten, he would
pout his beautiful lips, and sob and
look at me with tears in his eyes. I
would feel terribly pained to see
him cry. I would then take him
affectionately on my lap and
humour him. I actually saw and
did all this.”
“One day I was going to bathe,
when he took an obstinate fancy
to go with me. What could I do? I
took him with me. Then he would
not come out of the water. He
turned a deaf ear to all my
pleadings. At last I became angry,
immersed him in the water and
said, ‘Be now in the water as long
as you like,’ and I actually saw
that he panted and writhed under
the water. Startled to see his
suffering, I exclaimed within
myself remorsefully, ‘What have I
done!’ I took him out of the water
on to my lap.”
“I cannot describe what agony I
felt for him on another occasion,
and how much I wept. That day
Ramlala
was
obstinately
demanding something to eat, and I
gave him some parched rice not
properly husked, in order to pacify
him. I then found that his soft and
delicate tongue got lacerated by
the husk while he was eating.
Dear me! What a great pain I felt
then! I took him on my lap, wept
loudly, and taking hold of his chin,
sobbed out the words, ‘Oh, how
rash and stupid I have been! To
have put this contemptible stuff
into the mouth which mother
Kausalya used to fill lovingly with
such soft delicacies as butter,
thickened milk and cream!’”
Swami Saradananda describes
that as he was speaking these
words, the Master’s past grief
burst forth anew. He became
restless in their presence and
wept so bitterly that they could not
restrain their sympathetic tears,
though they did not understand a
bit of his loving relationship with
Ramlala.
(To be continued)
19
Cultivation of Strength and Fearlessness
Swami Budhananda
Methods of Cultivating Mental
Strength
Mental strength is any day a
superior force to the physical
strength. A mentally strong man
may or may not be physically as
strong. But as a human being he
will be always more effective than
the person representing merely
physical strength.
B
ut when by strength one
understands only physical
force, it creates problems for
Himself
and
for
others.
Unfortunately, a large number of
people have' always understood
only physical strength and brute
force by the word 'strength.' This
mistaken idea caused many
tragedies in history. People who
considered themselves strong
destroyed others and eventually
themselves. In our times what is
called the "armament race," which
poses a threat to human
civilization,
is
the
most
problematic development of this
concept of strength. If by strength
were meant only physical force,
one could not advocate its
universal cultivation. We have
therefore to understand the
concept in its all comprehensive
connotation.
Gandhi, unarmed, challenged the
mighty British imperial rule, and
the British had to quit India. That
is a classic example how the
strength of mind can be an
effective force in changing the
course of history. It will be found
in life that he who fails to cultivate
mental strength leads a kind of
vegetating life, wherever he may
be placed. But he who has taken
care to develop mental strength
turns everything to good account.
He faces life in a frontal manner,
battles with adversity manfully,
and is never afraid. In victory he
is humble and generous. In
defeat he is introspective and
optimistic. In trials he is alert and
dexterous. His very life manifests
a new winning quality, which the
man without mental strength
totally lacks. Until a man develops
mental strength, he cannot even
be distinguished from an animal.
And on mere physical level, what
chances has man to shine
You may have a body as strong
as that of a rhinoceros. What of
that? That is mere brute strength.
But that strength gets a new
meaning, when it is guided,
controlled and directed by a
strong mind.
1
20
brighter than an animal?
7. Egotistic
concern
for
perfection in others.
8. Lust, anger, jealousy, hatred,
avarice and arrogance.
9. The habit of harbouring
grudge against others.
10. Daydreaming and nightwaking.
11. Indulging in fantasies and
emotional kite-flying.
12. What is called "giving bits of
one's mind to others."
Therefore anyone, seeking to live
a life worthy of a human being,
while cultivating physical strength,
should take even greater care to
cultivate mental strength.
The cultivation of mental strength
too has two aspects: negative
and
positive.
Negatively
speaking, cultivation of mental
strength means stopping wastage
of mental energy. Without doing
that, obviously, the mind cannot
be
strengthened.
Positively
speaking, it means feeding the
mind with wholesome food.
Drainage of mental energy will
have to be stopped by giving up
these habits. While indulging in
these habits one cannot have a
strong mind, and a man of weak
mind cannot be physically healthy
for long. Modern psychologists
are all agreed that in human life
there is a close psychosomatic
relationship. "Psyche" means
mind, "soma" means body. How
close is that relation we shall
illustrate: A young woman of thirty
years of age had enjoyed a fairly
happy married life until the
depression of the early thirties. At
that time her husband's financial
security was threatened. Then
her very successful father-in-law
died.
This
woman
was
apprehensive lest her widowed
mother-in-law should request help
from the husband. The mother-inlaw appeared in the picture which
We are cautious about spending
money but often reckless enough
about spending a more precious
wealth -our mind. If one loses his
mind, of what use will be all the
wealth of the world to him? Even
his dearest ones will be anxious
to get him shut up in a mental
home. Mental energy is wasted in
various ways such as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Indiscriminate reading.
Purposeless controversy.
Garrulousness.
Inquisitiveness in others'
affairs.
5. Finding fault with others.
6. Overambitiousness.
21
one of the norms of high fashion.
But, for various reasons, it is a
very expensive and problematic
fashion. Once you get into getting
analysed, you never get out of it,
for where is the end of that kind of
analysis until you are in the coffin,
well-advanced in the way of all
flesh? Therefore, it is wisdom to
learn certain authentic simple
methods for taking care of one's
mental health, by which you can
never injure yourself.
created serious tension in the
young wife. She had a nervous
breakdown and all the symptoms
of serious mental disorder. She
was stabilized by attaining a
higher philosophy of life. She
realized that the mother-in-law
would not be a burden to her
even if worse came to worst. She
was also convinced that the life of
consecration can alone remove
her egocentric, selfish attitude. It
took several months for her to
establish herself in this new way
of thinking. In the meantime, she
systematically
went
through
spiritual
exercises
of
concentration, meditation, and so
forth, and gradually developed
will power.
In life's journey, conflict within
ourselves and with environments
generate wrong emotions in our
minds, such as hatred, jealousy,
lust, anger, avarice, pride etc.
What we call impurities of the
mind are nothing but wrong
movements of our mind. These
wrong emotions of the mind are
like the garbage of the mind. We
all know what will happen to our
homes if we cannot throw out
garbage from our kitchens for a
week. But many of us do not
seem to realize what happens to
our minds if we do not throw out
our mental garbage for months
and years. It is known only when
we develop some chronic mental
troubles causing worry for
everybody. But need we push the
situation in that blind alley at all?
What is needed is to develop the
habit of introspection and learn
Such is the close relation
between mind and body. It is a
well-known fact that mental strain
and maladies cause many
physical ailments. For developing
mental strength one must know
how to look after one's own
mental health. How can we do it?
There are certain simple and safe
ways by which we may do
effective
mind-husbandry
to
ourselves
and
our
family
members, without having to rush
in a panicky way to "be
analysed." In America, among
sophisticated millionaires, getting
regularly analysed has become
22
thoughts and actions to the Lord
during the practice of our
devotions, then we have a fair
chance of stopping the wastage
of the mind, and also destroying
the causes of possible mental
maladies. When we practise
these
simple
disciplines
it
becomes easier to bring the mind
under control. The cultivation of
mental strength is possible only in
a controlled mind. How do we
control the mind?
how to detect the wrong
movements of the mind, and also
the method of their removal.
Patanjali, the father of Hindu
psychology, suggests that these
impurities of the mind which drain
our energy and cause various
types of mental ailments can be
removed by practising these four
disciplines:
1. Friendliness
toward
the
happy.
2. Compassion to the
miserable.
3. Delight in the good.
4. Indifference to evil.
Control of the mind is a vast
subject by itself. For our present
purpose we shall discuss only
one point. There are various
methods of controlling the mind.
But the most fundamental is this:
we have the indriyas or senseorgans and also our buddhi or
discriminating faculty. When we
ally
our
mind
with
the
discriminating faculty and refuse
to dance on attendance to the
sense-organs, then the mind
stands controlled. It cannot be
done in a day. But it can be done.
If we practise friendliness toward
the happy, we shall strike at the
root of our instincts of jealousy
and hatred which eat away the
inside of man. Compassion to the
miserable will expand our heart
and purify the mind when
practised with humility and
consecration. Delight in the good
will augment our own goodness,
destroy
our
subtle
evil
tendencies. Indifference to evil
will save us from such contagion
from outside against which we
have not yet developed sufficient
resistance within ourselves.
Now the mind in which wastage
has been stopped, which has
been cleansed and controlled,
should be fed with wholesome
food. Indeed this threefold
process
of
mind-husbandry
should continue simultaneously,
one process helping the other.
Along with these if we would also
daily offer the fruits of our
23
their brains from very childhood.
Lay yourself open to these
thoughts and not to weakening
and paralysing ones. Say to your
own mind, 'I am He, I am He.' Let
it ring day and night in your minds
like a song, and at the point of
death declare: 'I am He.' That is
truth; the infinite strength of the
world is yours."
The wholesome food for the mind
is nothing but the noblest,
highest, and purest thoughts of
the world coming from any
quarter or any source. "We must
have," as Swami Vivekananda
says, "life-building, man-making,
character-making, assimilation of
ideas."
Even if we assimilate five such
ideas and make them part of life
and character, our minds will be
strong.
In one of his lectures in California,
Swami Vivekananda narrated
how, in his days of wandering in
India, his mental strength saved
his life on many occasions: "Many
times I have been in the jaws of
death, starving, footsore and
weary; for days and days I had
had no food, and often could walk
no further; I would sink down
under a tree and life would seem
ebbing away. I could not speak, I
could scarcely think, but at last
the mind reverted to the idea: 'I
have no fear, nor death; I never
hunger nor thirst. I am It! I am It!
The whole of nature cannot crush
me; it is my servant. Assert thy
strength, thou Lord of Lords and
God of Gods! Regain thy lost
empire! Arise and walk and stop
not!' And I would rise up,
reinvigorated, and here am I,
living, today. Thus, whenever
darkness comes, assert the
reality and everything adverse
must vanish. For, after all, it is but
In
Mahatma
Gandhi's
Autobiography we read, to start
with, he was a man of weak mind,
like any ordinary human being.
But he took to feeding his mind
with a few great ideas - truth,
non-violence,
fearlessness,
selflessness, all based on faith in
God.
And
eventually
he
developed one of the strongest
minds of our age.
In
one
context
Swami
Vivekananda points out the
technique of feeding the mind
with great life-giving ideas. He
says: "Men are taught from
childhood that they are weak and
sinners. Teach them that they are
all glorious children of immortality,
even those who are the weakest
in manifestation. Let positive,
strong, helpful thoughts enter into
24
mind, which is incredibly simple,
so simple that one almost
hesitates to tell it. It is the
repetition of God's name: japam.
God is the source of all strength.
And God and His name are nondifferent. Hence God's name is
also the source of all strength. He
who repeats the name of the Lord
daily, regularly, with faith and
love, his mind not only never
lacks strength, but it always
continues to increase it, being
spiritually connected with the very
source of all strength and power
in the world. This is so simple a
method,
and
we
are
so
sophisticated, that we may not
believe this. But, to be sure, this
is one of the greatest facts of life.
It is open to all to try and see this.
In a very unassuming teaching,
Sri Ramakrishna says: "Clap your
hands in the morning and evening
and say: 'Haribol, Haribol.'" These
words mean, "Chant the name of
God, Chant the name of God"
and also "God is my strength,
God is my strength."
a dream. Mountain-high though
the difficulties appear, terrible and
gloomy though all things seem,
they are but Maya. Fear not -it is
banished. Crush it, and it
vanishes. Stamp upon it, and it
dies."
Cultivated intellectual powers may
constitute one of the elements
which will strengthen the mind,
when it has been otherwise well
taken care of. And so intellectual
powers should be carefully
cultivated. The key to the
cultivation of intellectual powers is
the practice of concentration.
Those who leave their mark in
history, who have been great
teachers or benefactors of
mankind were all men of
concentration.
Observance of truth and purity of
character in thought, word, and
deed immensely enhance the
strength of mind. The true and the
pure may not be gifted with many
endowments, but they will shine
like the richest treasure of
humanity. Their words may not be
loud, but even their whisper will
demolish mountains of falsehood.
Even their detractors will trust
them.
(To be continued)
Reprinted from Prabuddha
Bharata, October 1972
Finally, there is one singular
method of gaining strength of
25
I
f you can find out the nature of Maya, the
universal illusion, it will leave you just as a thief
runs away when detected.
I
n God there are both Vidya Maya and Avidya
Maya. The Vidya Maya takes man towards God,
whereas the Avidya Maya leads him astray.
Knowledge, devotion, dispassion, compassion – all
these are expressions of Vidya Maya; only with their
help can one reach God.
I
t is Maya which reveals Brahman. Without Maya,
who could have known Brahman? Without knowing
Sakti, the manifested power of God, there is no
means of knowing Him.
I
t is only due to Maya that the attainment of
supreme knowledge and final beatitude becomes
possible for us. Otherwise who could ever dream of
all this?
From Maya alone spring duality and
relativity; beyond Maya there is neither the enjoyer
nor the object of enjoyment.
T
he cat catches her kitten with her teeth and
they are not hurt; but when a mouse is so caught,
it dies. Thus Maya never kills the devotee, though it
destroys others.
Sri Ramakrishna.