Master teaches Narendra Brahmajnana

Ramakrishna

(to Narendra) : “An outcaste was carrying a load of meat. Sankaracharya, after bathing in the Ganges, was passing by. Suddenly the outcaste touched him. Sankara said sharply:

Shankara

What! You touched me!

Outcast

Revered sir, I have not touched you nor have you touched me. Reason with me: Are you the body, the mind, or the buddhi? Analyse what you are. You are the Pure Ātman, unattached and free, unaffected by the 3 Gunās -sattva, rajas, and tamas.'

Ramakrishna

Do you know what Brahman is like? It is like air. Good and bad smells are carried by the air, but the air itself is unaffected.

He is beyond the Gunās and māyā-beyond both the ‘māyā of knowledge’ and the ‘māyā of ignorance’.‘Woman and gold’ is the ‘māyā of ignorance’. Knowledge, renunciation, devotion, and other spiritual qualities are the splendours of the ‘māyā of knowledge’.

“Ego of Knowledge”

Sankaracharya kept this ‘māyā of knowledge’; and that you and these others feel concerned about me is also due to this ‘māyā of knowledge’.

“Following the ‘māyā of knowledge’ step by step, one attains the Knowledge of Brahman. This ‘māyā of knowledge’ may be likened to the last few steps of the stairs. Next is the roof. Some, even after reaching the roof, go up and down the stairs; that is to say, some even after realizing God, retain the ’ego of Knowledge’. They retain this in order to teach others, taste divine bliss, and sport with the devotees of God.”

Narendra

Some people get angry with me when I speak of renunciation.

Ramakrishna

(in a whisper): “Renunciation is necessary. (Pointing to his different limbs) “If one thing is placed upon another, you must remove the one to get the other. You cannot get the second thing without removing the first.

(in a whisper, to Narendra): “When one sees everything filled with God alone, does one see anything else?”

Narendra

Must one renounce the world?

Ramakrishna

Didn’t I say just now: ‘When one sees everything filled with God alone, does one see anything else?’ Does one then see any such thing as the world? “I mean mental renunciation. Not one of those who have come here is a worldly person. Some of them had a slight desire-for instance, a fancy for woman. (Rakhal and M. smile.) And that desire has been fulfilled.

The Master looks at Narendra tenderly and becomes filled with love. Looking at the devotees, he says, “Grand!”

Narendra

(smiling) What is grand?

Ramakrishna

(smiling): “I see that preparations are going on for a grand renunciation.

Narendra and the devotees look silently at the Master. Rakhal resumes the conversation.

Rakhal

(smiling, to the Master): “Narendra is now beginning to understand you rather well.

Ramakrishna

(laughs): “Yes, that is so. I see that many others, too, are beginning to understand.

Narendra and M

Sri Ramakrishna looks at Narendra and M. By a sign of his finger draws the attention of the devotees to them. He first points out Narendra and then M. Rakhal understands the Master’s hint and says to him with a smile, “Don’t you mean that Narendra has the attitude of a hero, and he [meaning M.] that of a handmaid of God?”

Sri Ramakrishna laughs.

Narendra

(smiling, to Rakhal): “He [meaning M.] doesn’t talk much and is bashful. Is that why you say he is a handmaid of God?”

Ramakrishna

(smiling, to Narendra): “Well, what do you think of me?

Narendra

You are a hero, a handmaid of God, and everything else.

These words fill Sri Ramakrishna with divine emotion. He places his hand on his heart and is about to say something.

He says to Narendra and the other devotees:

Ramakrishna

I see that all things-everything that exist-have come from this.

He asks Narendra by a sign:

Ramakrishna

What did you understand?

Narendra

All created objects have come from you.

The Master’s face beams with joy. He says to Rakhal, “Did you hear what he said?”

Sri Ramakrishna asks Narendra to sing. Narendra intones a hymn. His mind is full of renunciation. He sings:

Unsteady is water on the lotus petal; Just as unsteady is the life of man. One moment with a sādhu is the boat That takes one across the ocean of this world. . . .

Narendra has hardly finished one or two lines, when Sri Ramakrishna says to him by a sign:

Ramakrishna

What are you singing? That is a very insignificant attitude, a very commonplace thing.

Now Narendra sings about the love of Krishna, impersonating one of His handmaids:

How strange, O friend, are the rules of life and death! The Youth of Braja has Red away, And this poor maid of Braja soon will die. Madhava is in love with other maids More beautiful than I.

Alas! He has forgotten the milkman’s artless daughter. Who would ever have guessed, dear friend, that He, A Lover so tender, so divine, Could be a beggar simply for outward charm? I was a fool not to have seen it before; But carried away by His beauty, I yearned alone to hold His two feet to my breast. Now I shall drown myself in the Jamuna’s stream, Or take a draught of poison, friend! Or I shall bind a creeper round my neck,Or hang myself from a young tamala tree; Or, failing all of these, Destroy my wretched self by chanting Krishna’s name. Sri Ramakrishna and the devotees are greatly moved by the song. The Master and Rakhal shed tears of love. Narendra is intoxicated with the love of the gopis of Braja for their Sweetheart, Sri Krishna, and sings: O Krishna! Beloved! You are mine.

What shall I say to You, O Lord?

What shall I ever say to You? Only a woman am I, And never fortune’s favourite; I do not know what to say. You are the mirror for the hand, And You are the flower for the hair. O Friend, I shall make a flower of You And wear You in my hair; Under my braids I shall hide You, Friend! No one will see You there. You are the betel-leaf for the lips, The sweet collyrium for the eyes; O Friend, with You I shall stain my lips, With You I shall paint my eyes. You are the sandal-paste for the body; You are the necklace for the neck. I shall anoint myself with You, My fragrant Sandal-paste, And soothe my body and my soul. I shall wear You, my lovely Necklace, Here about my neck, And You will lie upon my bosom, Close to my throbbing heart. You are the Treasure in my body; You are the Dweller in my house. You are to me, O Lord, What wings are to the flying bird, What water is to the fish.