Notes on Life and Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna

*****The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'Sri M' (Translation by: Swami Nikhilananda)*****

* Introduction Section

• During later part of Nineteenth Century Indian social and religious atmosphere was in turmoil; due to influence and education of British rulers, Indian youth started regarding Hinduism and its practices was worthless waste of time. 'Many intelligent young Hindus became converted. The man in the street was confused. The majority of the educated grew materialistic in their mental outlook. Everyone living near Calcutta or the other strongholds of Western culture, even those who attempted to cling to the orthodox traditions of Hindu society, became infected by the new uncertainties and the new beliefs.' In such an atmosphere when Ramkumar, elder brother of Sri Ramakrishna, advised Him to pay attention to bread-winning education, Sri Ramakrishna replied, 'Brother, what shall I do with mere bread-winning education?' The import of this statement by Sri Ramakrishna was immense. It was the sign that Divine Will had started the counter-current to save Indian spirituality and culture through Sri Ramakrishna. After more than 150 years and after passing through various struggles in National and International Life, we now can assess the significance and effect of that statement!


• 'To develop the devotee's love for God, Vaishnavism humanises God. God is to be regarded as the devotee's Parent, Master, Friend, Child, Husband, or Sweetheart, each succeeding relationship representing an intensification of love. These Bhavas, or attitudes toward God, are known as Shanta, Dasya, Sakhya, Vatsalya, and Madhur. The rishis of the Vedas, Hanuman, the cowherd boys of Vrindavan, Rama's mother Kausalya, and Radhika, Krishna's sweetheart, exhibited, respectively, the most perfect examples of these forms.'


• Sri Ramakrishna: "The manifestation in the same individual of the nineteen different kinds of emotion for God is called, in the books on bhakti, Maha-bhava. An ordinary man takes a whole lifetime to express even a single one of these. But in this body [meaning himself] there has been a complete manifestation of all nineteen."


• 'Sri Ramakrishna mistrusted philanthropy that presumed to pose as charity. He warned people against it. He saw in most acts of philanthropy nothing but egotism, vanity, a desire for glory, a barren excitement to kill the boredom of life, or an attempt to soothe a guilty conscience. True charity, he taught, is the result of love of God - service to man in a spirit of worship.' He scolded Kristodas Pal, the famous social reformer and patriot of Bengal, when Kristopal wanted to advice Sri Ramakrishna that renunciation and God-realization are secondary and service to humanity is primary! Sri Ramakrishna had compared unenlightened ego's place in the universe to that of a tiny crab in Ganga!

* October 27, 1882

• Different manifestations of Kali : '... She plays in different ways. It is She alone who is known as Maha-Kali, Nitya-Kali, Smasana-Kali, Raksha-Kali, and Syama-Kali. Maha-Kali and Nitya-Kali are mentioned in the Tantra philosophy. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, and the earth and when darkness was enveloped in darkness, then the Mother, the Formless One, Maha-Kali, the Great Power, was one with Maha-Kala, the Absolute. Syama-Kali has a somewhat tender aspect and is worshipped in the Hindu households. She is the Dispenser of boons and the Dispeller of fear. People worship Raksha-Kali, the Protectress, in times of epidemic, famine, earthquake, drought, and flood. Smasana-Kali is the embodiment of the power of destruction. She resides in the cremation ground, surrounded by corpses, jackals, and terrible female spirits. From Her mouth flows a stream of blood, from Her neck hangs a garland of human heads, and around Her waist is a girdle made of human hands.'

* September 19, 1884

Master's Spiritual Practice

• (To the devotees) "God made me pass through the disciplines of various paths. First according to the Purana, then according to the Tantra. I also followed the disciplines of the Vedas. At first I practised sadhana in the Panchavati. I made a grove of tulsi-plants and used to sit inside it and meditate. Sometimes I cried with a longing Heart, 'Mother! Mother!' Or I again, 'Rama! Rama!'
  "While repeating the name of Rama, I sometimes assumed the attitude of Hanuman and fixed a tail to the lower end of my backbone. I was in a God-intoxicated state. At that time I used to put on a silk robe and worship the Deity. What joy I experienced in that worship!
  "I practised the discipline of the Tantra under the bel-tree. At that time I could see no distinction between the sacred tulsi and any other plant. In that state I sometimes ate the leavings from a jackal's meal, food that had been exposed the whole night, part of which might have been eaten by snakes or other creatures. Yes, I ate that stuff.
  "Sometimes I rode on a dog and fed him with luchi, also eating part of the bread myself. I realized that the whole world was filled with God alone. One cannot have spiritual realization without destroying ignorance; so I would assume the attitude of a tiger and devour ignorance.
  "While practising the disciplines of the Vedas, I became a sannyasi. I used to lie down in the chandni and say to Hriday: 'I am a sannyasi. I shall take my meals here.'
  "I vowed to the Divine Mother that I would kill myself if I did not see God. I said to Her: 'O Mother, I am a fool. Please teach me what is contained in the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras, and the other scriptures.' The Mother said to me, 'The essence of the Vedanta is that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory.' The Satchidananda Brahman described in the Vedas is the Satchidananda Siva of the Tantra and the Satchidananda Krishna of the Purana. The essence of the Gita is what you get by repeating the word ten times. It is reversed into 'tagi', which indicates renunciation.
  
  "After the realization of God, how far below lie the Vedas, the Vedanta, the Purana, the Tantra! (To Hazra) I cannot utter the word 'Om' in samadhi. Why is that? I cannot say 'Om' unless I come down very far from the state of samadhi.
  "I had all the experiences that one should have, according to the scriptures, after one's direct perception of God. I behaved like a child, like a madman, like a ghoul, and like an inert thing.
  "I saw the visions described in the scriptures. Sometimes I saw the universe filled with sparks of fire. Sometimes I saw all the quarters glittering with light, as if the world were a lake of mercury. Sometimes I saw the world as if made of liquid silver. Sometimes, again, I saw all the quarters illumined as if with the light of Roman candles. So you see my experiences tally with those described in the scriptures.
  "It was revealed to me further that God Himself has become the universe and all its living beings and the twenty-four cosmic principles. It is like the process of evolution and involution.
  "Oh, what a state God kept me in at that time! One experience would hardly be over before another overcame me. It was like the movement of the husking-machine: no sooner is one end down than the other goes up.
  "I would see God in meditation, in the state of samadhi, and I would see the same God when my mind came back to the outer world. When looking at this side of the mirror I would see Him alone, and when looking on the reverse side I saw the same God."

* March 25, 1887

• Narendra: "... times without number the Master [Sri Ramakrishna] said to me: 'In me alone are embodied Advaita, Chaitanya, and Nityananda*. I am all these three.'"
     (* Advaita and Nityananda were intimate companions of Chaitanya)

• 'Christopher Isherwood, the author of Ramakrishna and His Disciples, wrote:
  'Although Saradananda did not begin his work until more than twenty years after Ramakrishna's death, there is no doubt of its authenticity. Many of those who had known Ramakrishna were then still alive, and Saradananda carefully compared his memories with theirs. The Great Master has also the value of having been written by a monastic disciple, who has actually shared the extraordinary experiences he describes. "Nothing beyond my spiritual experience has been recorded in the book," Saradananda once told a questioner. This seemingly cautious answer is in fact a claim so tremendous that it silences all suspicion of boastfulness; a man like Saradananda could not have made it unless it was literally true.'
  (from 'Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play', P942-43)
  [Swami Saradananda's original Bengali biography of Sri Ramakrishna is called Sri Ramakrishna LeelaPrasanga, which was translated into English first as Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master and now recently again into English as Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play]

* Translator's Note

• 'This book bears witness to Sri Ramakrishna's testimony that all religions are equally valid. He found a place for each one in his own life. He first realized God by following Hindu practices, and then by following the Christian and Muslim paths. Such a journey is unique in the religious history of the world. He afterwards proclaimed, "As many faiths, so many paths," thus establishing an ideal harmony of religions for our present age, in which religions are in conflict and hatred and violence are rampant. He taught a religion so badly needed today, a religion that is constructive and not destructive, scientific and not fanatical, practical and not theoretical, rational and not superstitious, universal and not parochial. Truly, Sri Ramakrishna worked to create unity in our time and he repeatedly stated that the goal of human life is to realize God.'

* Volume One: Introduction and Early Life

Introduction

• The cause of India's fascination with spirituality is the regular appearance of great souls in India. Rishis of Vedic age were seen as Avataras in Puranic age; even Samkhyas, who don't accept God, termed such sages as Prakriti-leena purushas. According to Samkhyas, the reason for such soul's unwillingness to merge in infinite Self is their strong desire to do good to humanity; this makes them merge instead with Prakriti and feel one with the powers of Prakriti. They are either 'Kalpaniyamak Ishwara' (ruler for one cycle of cosmos) or 'Ishwarkoti' (belonging to the close category of Ishwara).

Chapter 1: The Need of the Age

• Western civilization developed strong body-consciousness because of cold-climatic conditions; this resulted in selfishness and later developed nationalism in them. In last five-six centuries, heavy reliance on reason based on five senses made them discard religion, priesthood as obstacles to human progress. Thus they could progress materially but missed the crucial 'Self-Knowledge'; they felt an emptiness, void in heart internally and destruction due to wars externally.


• India and many other countries were greatly influenced by Western materialism; Indians being long in slavery and being taught by British masters, lost faith in their own culture, religion, and ancestors. But India's very soul is spirituality, religion; the nation had sense of unity based on Gita, Gayatri, Ganga etc. Thus now India's very existence was in danger.


• Lord Sri Krishna had proclaimed in Bhagawad-Gita that whenever there is decline in righteousness and increase in unrighteousness, He manifests as an Incarnation to set things right. Situation in India and whole world was ripe for such a manifestation. The story of Sri Ramakrishna is the story of current Incarnation for the modern world.

Chapter 2: Kamarpukur and Sri Ramakrishna's Ancestry

• Great incarnations generally take birth in poor family where reliance on God & faith are intact and where they get an opportunity to acquaint themselves with religious traditions of the culture along with conditions of poor and afflicted. They can thus create, in future, a new path to rejuvenate declining religion and help suffering humanity.

Chapter 3: The Pious Family of Kamarpukur

• 'People truly realize the worthlessness and impermanence of this world when they encounter trials and tribulations.'

Chapter 4: Various Experiences of Chandradevi

• History shows that parents of Divine Incarnations experience divine visions, dreams before and after the birth of Incarnation.

* Volume Two: Sri Ramakrishna as a Spiritual Aspirant

Introduction

• Except Buddha and Chaitanya, we do not have detail recorded history of any other incarnation's spiritual practices. Followers and devotees of incarnations might have not recorded this part of their lives because the devotees might have thought it wise to hide the imperfect human side of incarnation.

Chapter 1: Spiritual Aspirant and Spiritual Discipline

• 'The Master used to say, "Seeing Brahman, or God, in all beings is the last word in Sadhana." At the culmination of Sadhana, one reaches that plane. The Vedas and Upanishads, the most authoritative Hindu scriptures, support this statement.'


• Sadhana i.e. spiritual discipline means efforts taken by the aspirant to know the Truth behind name and form, time and space, mind and intellect, and other attributes of world.


• 'Giving up the ordinary, selfish, sense-pleasure-oriented idea about the world is called vairagya [renunciation] by scriptures.' The idea that 'world is real' need to be given up in Jnana as well as Bhakti path.


• During Upanishadic times the path of negation, neti-neti, developed first as human beings could observe the transitory nature of human life. They also figured out that the cause of world can be better explored first through their own body-minds than through external world and hence the enquiry, 'What am I?' became their goal.


• Nirvikalpa Samadhi in the iti-iti path of Bhakti - by intense purity and meditation, the aspirant is able to visualise the glowing spiritual form of his/her Chosen Deity and thus is able to forget external world; one who has achieved this high level of Savikalpa Samadhi 'has developed an extremely powerful and steadfast mind. A devotee who can make the mind completely free from modifications can more deeply enjoy the relationship with God. When the devotee realizes this, his or her whole mind runs enthusiastically in that direction. The devotee soon ascends to the highest plane of consciousness by the grace of the guru and of God, and attains eternal peace by becoming established in nondual knowledge.'

Chapter 2: The Avatar as a Spiritual Aspirant

• Ordinary human mind is filled with innumerable desires accumulated from many births. Incarnations of God do not have to struggle with gross desires but subtle desires tormet them just like ordinary human being, in fact their sensitive minds are more pained by subtle desires.


• After attaining the cause of world i.e. Brahman, Avatars and Jivanmuktas see world and beings in it as a mere shadow. Sri Ramakrishna says, 'The difference between an individual soul and an avatar is a difference in manifestation of power only'.


• 'Until we realize that liberation can be reached only by renouncing our desire for sense pleasures and by turning our minds inward, true peace, the realization of the indivisible truth beyond time and space, will remain beyond our grasp.'

Chapter 6: His Longing and First Vision

• Some people say that we have renounced mentally and we don't need physical renunciation. This is deceiving oneself as it never works. 'When the mind thinks one thing and moves in that direction, and the body moves in another direction - nothing great can be achieved, not to speak of God-realization! ... As light and darkness never appear together, so yoga and bhoga can not coexist. No one has ever yet discovered an easy path that allows one to serve simultaneously God and the world of lust and gold.'

Chapter 7: Sadhana and Ecstasy

• Avarata bodies, especially Bhakti-Avataras, adjust gradually - often passing through painful internal changes - to tremendous emotional upsurges due to spiritual longing in them. Sri Ramakrishna suffered burning sensation all over the body during three phases: first when the papa-purusha within was burnt, second when He developed intense longing and love for God and separation from God was unbearable, and third when He was practicing Madhura-Bhava sadhana.

Chapter 8: Story of the First Four Years of Sadhana

• Sri Ramakrishna's sadhana period (1856-67) can be divided into three parts of four years each. In the first four years (1856-59) he moved from Vaidhi Bhakti to Raga Bhaki based purely on his intense longing to see his chosen deity - Mother Kali; and had Mother's vision. During this period he had initiation into Shakti-mantra by Kenaram Bhattacharya.


• The visions and spiritual experiences he had based on intense longing needed to be verified by following scriptural paths and methods. 'When the aspirant finds that these three - the words of the guru, the testimony of the scriptures, and his or her own experience - are identical, he or she becomes free from doubt and attains perfect peace.'


• Sri Ramakrishna's sadhana was not for himself, it was for the good of the world. Divine Mother made an unlettered person like him do all the practices of contending sects and religions, so that the ultimate goal reached by these paths can be practically demonstrated to the world as one and the same.


• Also in first four years of sadhana, he followed Hanuman's Dasya Bhava (servant attitude) towards Sri Rama; he had vision of Sita with open eyes, her luminous form merged into him.


• Divine Mother instructed Sri Ramakrishna to remain in Bhavamukha state after he cried to Her for solving a doubt which was raised in his mind due to Haldhari's arguments. Once this instruction was received in the Kuthi through a vision of golden-complexioned bearded calm face which appeared in a smoke-like mist, another time it was received in Kali temple in the form of 'Rati's Mother' and lastly it was received after Sri Ramakrishna had remained in Nirvikalpa Samadhi for six months at the end of his Vedanta sadhana.


• One who has made God-realization as the goal of life, money is as useless as clay.

Chapter 11: Master's Tantra Sadhana

• Sri Ramakrishna practised and reached perfection in Tantra sadhanas maintaining filial attitude towards all women and thus proved that it is not necessary to have woman companion during these sadhanas. For long Tantra was criticized by people due to lack of self-control among aspirants practicing it. Sri Ramakrishna established the purity and validity of Tantra scriptures through His Tantra sadhana.


• Master's Tantra sadhana also enabled Him later to guide and help some of his disciples in their path, with few rites connected to these sadhanas.

Chapter 12: Jatadhari & Sadhana of Vatsalya Bhava

• 'It is doubtful whether a person endowed with an extraordinary and powerful mind like the Master's comes to this world more than once in the course of four or five thousand years. His mind was fully controlled, concentrated and free of worldly impressions, and it was motivated by such an intense longing for the Divine Mother that he almost forgot to eat and sleep for eight years. It is impossible for us to imagine the extent to which his mind became powerful and his keen insight helped him achieve spiritual visions.'

Chapter 13: Quintessence of Madhura Bhava

• Inner struggle of spiritual aspirant can't be understood by ordinary men; spiritual aspirant withdraws mind from external sense perceptions and tries to merge it in the Reality behind 'I' consciousness. So long as the impressions gathered in the mind during innumerable past lives do not get 'burned up' completely, the aspirant moves from relative plane to Absolute and back.


• 'Some ancient sages described the indivisible, non-dual Reality experienced during Samadhi as being the extinction of everything, or "void" (sunya); others explained it as the meeting ground of everything, or "full" (purna). But in truth, both were describing the same experience. All the sages indicate It as being the source as well as the dissolution of everything. Buddha described Reality as void, the extinction of everything, whereas Shankara taught that the same thing is full, the unity of everything. We come to this conclusion if we study the philosophies of Buddha and Shankara, disregarding the views of later Buddhist teachers.'

Chapter 14: Master's Practice of Madhura Bhava

• Though Shukadeva and others had eulogized the transcendental love of Radha's Madhura Bhava, it was forgotten by humanity; and hence Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu demonstrated it in his life. Sri Ramakrishna too manifested the same and thus we have three highest examples of Madhura Bhava till date.

Chapter 21: Epilogue to Master's Sadhana

• Sri Ramakrishna's practice of various religious paths and subsequent attainment of same Reality through them all led Him to deduce certain conclusions about Himself:
  1) He is an incarnation of God. His sadhanas were for the benefit of humanity
  2) There is no Liberation for Him. He being eternally free has to manifest whenever there is
  decline of righteousness on human plane.
  3) He knew time of His death.


• He also deduced following conclusions about spirituality in general:
  1) All religions are true. "As many faiths, so many paths."
  2) Human beings adopt dualism, qualified nondualism, and nondualism according to their temperaments.
  These three are not contradictory but are steps appearing for spiritual aspirants in succession.
  3) Ordinary people will progress through Karma-Yoga i.e. remembering God and
  chanting His name while discharging daily duties.
  4) A religious organization based on this catholic attitude should be founded.
  (Which later Swami Vivekananda established as Ramakrishna Math and Mission)
  5) Those who are in their last life will accept his gospel.

Appendix

• The upheaval brought about in all spheres of life in India due to British rule begged for an approach which could harmonize Eastern ideals with Western ones. Many intellectuals, reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Devendranath Tagore, Keshab Chandra Sen etc. tried to solve this in Nineteenth Century but couldn't succeed. Sri Ramakrishna, through his practice and realization of all paths in Hinduism as well as other religions like Islam and Christianity, solved this completely. Sri Ramakrishna also prepared young Western educated youths, chief among them being Swami Vivekananda, for propagation of this solution.

* Volume Three: Sri Ramakrishna as a Guru (Part I)

Chapter 2: A Discourse on Bhava, Samadhi, and Darshana

• Essentials of Spirituality: steadfast intellect with strong character, purity and dispassion from world, freedom from desires, faith, and renunciation.

Chapter 6: As Guru, His Attitude Towards Mathur

• Ordinary human being's life and an Avatara's life have many similarities except that in Avatara's life the play of Divine Power is very vivid. Ordinary people always try to mould their lives on the life of an Avatara; Sri Ramakrishna is the latest mould which has spread quickly and will continue to spread for long time.

Chapter 8: Master's Relationship with His Gurus

• According to Vedanta, the only way to become fearless is to realize the Self (Atman) which is infinite Consciousness-Bliss; It indivisible, all-pervading, ever-pure, ageless, deathless, ever-illumined real nature of all. 'To constantly experience the Atman means to become one with Pure Consciousness, which leads to liberation from all bondage.'


• One who is fully established in this non-dual Atman can not come back to limited 'I-consciousness' and his/her body drops in twenty-one days. Jivanmukta beings occasionally identify with Atman and gradually develop more and more identity with It. Ishwarkoti beings experience It occasionally from childhood and after completing their desired mission on Earth, they fully merge back into It. As to Avatars, they have tremendous spiritual power to merge in Atman at will anytime during their life, to stay united with It for any amount of time, and to return to relative plane at will.

* Volume Four: Sri Ramakrishna as a Guru (Part II)

Chapter 1: Story of Vaishnavacharan and Gauri

• During Vedic period, the rituals controlled the sense-pull and directed mind slowly towards Divine; and then Upanishadic teachings made mind fit for Self-Realisation. Later during Buddhist period, the spiritual disciplines meant for desire-less monks were indiscriminately given to householders and the Vedic rituals, which allowed controlled sense-pleasures, were suppressed. This resulted in re-appearance of these rituals in distorted form to be practiced secretly in the dead of a night at cremation grounds! These were the Tantra Sadhanas.


• Like Vedic rituals, Tantra too offers yoga and bhoga both, but the Vedic rituals were separate from Knowledge based Upanishads. In Tantra the rituals are closely connected with non-dual knowledge. This, if done properly, is a great way to advance spiritually keeping the ultimate goal always in sight. Hence Tantra Sadhana has had a tremendous impact on masses of India.


• 'Another innovation of Tantra is the preaching of the motherhood of Mahamaya, the cause of the universe, and simultaneously the promotion of a pure attitude towards all female forms.' These ideas are exclusive to Tantras.


• Tantric Virachara [heroic mode worship] may have developed combining the high spiritual part of Veda and Dravidian's gross method of worship of female body. Tantras tried to inculcate reverence towards all females although allowing sense-enjoyment with them.


• Despite high ideals of Tantra, later a period came when it was used for attaining occult powers and thus came into existence bizarre sadhanas, worship of ghosts, ghouls etc.


• Sri Chaitanya and his tradition of Vaishnavism altered Tantric sadhana by excluding it's non-dualistic modes and promoting Pashu bhava [bestial mode worship] of Tantra; external purification and serving deity as one would serve oneself, was emphasised.


• Kartabhaja sect of Vaishnavism uses the term Aleklata [from Alek i.e. Alakshya in Sanskrit] to denote invisible Brahman; one in whose pure mind the Aleklata manifests is true guru or Karta, and those who bhaja (worship) such a Karta are called Kartabhaja. Like the gradations of Tantra aspirants [bestial, heroic, divine], Kartabhajas have Auls, Bauls, Darveshas, and Sains.


• 'When a man forgets that the Divine Mother is hidden in all women and lustfully looks at the female body as an object of enjoyment, he insults the Divine Mother and consequently does harm to himself.' India's degradation is due to disrespect for women and looking at them as an object of enjoyment.

Chapter 2: As a Guru & Sadhus of Various Orders

• Sri Ramakrishna had met following scriptural Pandits: Vaishnavacharan (prominent among Vaishnavas of the time, secret practice of Kartabhaja sect), Gauri (of Indesh, Bankura, Tantra sadhaka, siddhi of performing yajna on one hand, siddhi of invincibility in debate through chanting loudly Divine Mother's name), Padmalochan of Burdwan (wise, liberal, siddhi of invincibility in debate through washing face with water and wiping with towel before debate), Narayana Shastri of Rajasthan (expert in six systems of philosophy, sannyasa from Sri Ramakrishna and demise at Vasishtha Ashrama), Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arya Samaj (Sri Ramakrishna met him before he founded Arya Samaj, found him to be ambitious and using Sanskrit to distort scriptural passages), Jayanarayan (know about his own death and passed away in Varanasi), Krishnakishore Bhattacharya (of Ariadaha, devotee of Sri Ram)


• Sri Ramakrishna also met Maharshi Devendra Nath Tagore and Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar

Chapter 3: Pilgrimage & Association with Holy Men

• Sri Ramakrishna's liberal, illuminating ideas would spread throughout the world in course of time and will solve many religious, social conflicts.


• To perform their task in spiritual domain, Avataras and great spiritual teachers must know: How did past spiritual masters start spiritual movements, how these movements fared the test of time, how have they helped people, in course of time how much harm have they caused getting distorted, how did they get corrupted, how much in future will they cause harm etc.


• After knowing above, Avataras introduce new movements suitable for current and future situations; for this they use their spiritual power and experience gained through austerities.


• Sri Ramakrishna studied individual, social, and national problem through ordinary external vision as well as through divine yogic vision.


• Avatars have extraordinary spiritual power and to understand their life's motives, sages like Kapila of Sankhya philosophy called them Prakriti-leena Purushas i.e. they remain merged/absorbed in Prakriti for a cycle of creation instead of attaining Nirvana. During this cycle all powers of Prakriti are experienced by them as their own and thus they are the Ishwara for that cycle.


• Vedanta does not accept this idea of cycle-specific Ishwaras but accepts Eternal Ishwara who manifests as universe and it's beings. 'Those special, powerful beings are therefor part of Ishwara, who is eternal, pure, illumined, and free by nature. Apart from that, these extraordinary individuals are born, when needed, for a special purpose for the good of humanity. Because they are endowed with a particular power suitable to their task, they are called adhikarikas, which means that these persons are equipped with the authority to perform a particular action, and have been entrusted to accomplish it.'


• 'Avataras are humanity's true gurus.' They show 'will to live' unlike other jivanmuktas who do not wish the body to continue. This is due to their divine knowledge about their mission on earth; as soon as that is accomplished they give up body in Samadhi. Ordinary jivas always feel that their desires are not yet fulfilled and they do not wish to die! Thus there is a sea of difference between ordinary jiva and avatara.

Chapter 4: Master as Guru: Conclusion

• Ordinary people have completely forgotten that their true nature is highest non-dual Brahman and they have firm conviction that knowledge can be acquired only through senses.


• They can see a man, a cow, a mountain etc. only as it appears to senses, but God-realised beings see that through a man, a cow, a mountain etc. (through all names and forms) One indivisible Consciousness shines. The veil of ignorance alone varies from object to object.


• Sri Ramakrishna observed the spiritual narrow-mindedness of ordinary aspirants at various pilgrimage centres and understood that his realization of same truth through various paths, was a unique phenomenon. Previous incarnations and religious teachers were sincere but one-sided while Divine Mother made him go through all religious paths for the sake of removing bigotry, antagonism etc. from religious world.


• Sri Ramakrishna was the first person to experience "all religions are true - as many faiths, so many paths."


• He also realized that Divine Mother had given him immense spiritual power to impart religion to the world.


• Unlike ordinary human beings, Sri Ramakrishna could not enjoy liberation as he was special instrument of Divine Mother through ages, manifesting again and again, for fulfilling humanity's genuine spiritual urge.

* Volume Five: The Master's Divine Mood and Narendranath

Prologue

• 1856-1868 - Twelve years of Sadhana of Sri Ramakrishna; 1868-1873 i.e. seven years till the Shodashi Puja of Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna got well acquainted with tremendous spiritual power within him and spiritual condition of masses. Remaining twelve years after this (1873-1886) He was in divine mood and interacted with Brahmo-devotees as well as His own monastic and householder devotees; He thus halted the decline of religion in India due to Western influence and re-established Sanatana Dharma.


• 'In the same year that English education was officially introduced in India [1836] the Master was born. The Master's power mitigated the negative aspects of Western education while absorbing the positive aspects and simultaneously helped India maintain her own character. It is amazing that these two forces appeared in India simultaneously by Providence.'


• Sri Ramakrishna's major actions under the influence of divine mood:
  (1) Moulding the life of Sri Sarada Devi so as to make it a powerful spiritual dynamo.
  (2) Trying to guide the spiritual lives of religious leaders of Calcutta
  (3) Quenching the spiritual thirst of spiritual aspirants who came to Dakshineshwar
  (4) Classifying His disciples according to their capacities and developing their spiritual life
  (5) Making some of His disciples monks in order to disseminate His universal ideas to the world
  (6) Visiting Calcutta homes of His devotees and inspiring them, as well as their family and friends,
  through spiritual talks and devotional singing
  (7) Creating a bond of love between devotees so as to form an inclusive religious organization

Chapter 6: Master and Narendra's Divine Relationship

• Sri Ramakrishna's divine relationship with Narendra during 1881-86 can be divided in to five main categories:
  (1) Sri Ramakrishna understood that Narendra was exceptionally rare spiritual aspirant of highest order
  and by Divine Mother's Will, he was born to assist Him [Sri Ramakrishna] in His mission of establishing
  eternal religion as per the need of the age by alleviating the degradation it had undergone.
  (2) Sri Ramakrishna tied Narendra eternally with infinite Love and Trust
  (3) Sri Ramakrishna subjected Narendra to various tests and confirmed His insights about Narendra greatness
  and his life's goal.
  (4) Sri Ramakrishna trained Narendra in various ways and made him suitable instrument to fulfil the great
  mission of his life.
  (5) After training, Narendra obtained the knowledge of Brahman. Sri Ramakrishna then taught him how to establish
  the religion for this age and handed him the responsibility of propagating His mission and His religious order.

Chapter 7: Master's Method of Testing, and Narendra

• Sri Ramakrishna tested and evaluated his devotees before accepting them; the methods he used for this can be categorised into five types:
  (1) Using physiognomy to determine inner tendencies - Master had in-depth knowledge about shape, features
  of physical body and corresponding mental traits.
  (2) Watching the trivial actions of devotees, He could ascertain their character.
  (3) Based on above criterion, He could check the degree of their attachment to 'lust and gold'.
  (4) He would ascertain their opinion about Him and His spiritual state; if the devotee - intuitively and on his/her own
  accord - accepted Master as the highest spiritual ideal in the world, then He would become reassured.

Chapter 8: Narendra's Education

• In Nineteenth Century, due to the influence of Western Education, many Indians thought that there was nothing worthwhile in Indian scriptures and only Western Materialism was the right pursuit of life. This made them selfish and hypocritical. Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj tried to rectify this but they were quite inadequate and their movement split several times due to petty differences.


• Narendra's father too believed that the only spirituality to be found was in Persian poet Hafiz's poems and in Bible. Narendra studied all the Western Philosophy, ancient and modern, as also modern physiology and science, but he realized that Truth is unattainable through these. Also he realised that man is unable to comprehend the true nature of external world as well as internal thought-emotions-world, both of which are mediated by the insurmountable barrier of space-time.


• Though Narendra rigorously pursued Western logic and scientific methods of investigation, he knew their limitedness due to dependence only on five sense-inputs. Luckily for his search of ultimate Truth, he met Sri Ramakrishna during this period and through him gained some authentic and high spiritual experiences, which sustained his faith in God.


• Narendra continued his intense sadhana and meditation; during this period he was blessed with the vision of Bhagavan Buddha.

--- @Holy Trio