Talks Excerpt 482. Swamiji shares further insights following a reading from Sister Devamata – a western disciple of Swami Vivekananda.

From Mother Radha’s recordings of Swamiji.

[Swamiji reads from ‘Days in an Indian Monastery‘ by Sister Devamata].

Purna [Master said he was an Ishwarakoti] was another beloved disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. He was brought to see the Master when he was only nine years old. ‘Who am I?’ Sri Ramakrishna asked the boy. Purna replied without a moment’s hesitation, ‘You are an Incarnation of Deity.’ Then Sri Ramakrishna asked him if he spent some time each day in thinking of God, the child replied that he often meditated and that when he did, tears of joy streamed out of the corners of his eyes. Sri Ramakrishna always said of him that he had attained the highest state of bhakti, devotion. He loved him so much that he would, now and then, stand and wait at the gate of his school to give him some sweetmeats and whenever he went to the house of any devotee in Calcutta he always asked that Purna be brought to him.

Swamiji: Do you know what you get by reading the scriptures, the Puranas? Your mind gets purified. So by reading Sri Ramakrishna’s Gospel our minds become purified, his spiritual power becomes our power, his spiritual bhakti becomes our bhakti. The love that he felt becomes ours.

On one occasion when Sri Ramakrishna was talking with his disciples he suddenly became entirely abstracted and for ten or fifteen minutes remained in that state. When he returned to outer consciousness he explained, ‘I have been with Suresh.’ Suresh himself said later that he was sitting before the newly set up image of the Divine Mother when suddenly he saw Sri Ramakrishna before him, consoling him. He stayed with him for a little while and then went away, leaving his mind perfectly pacified.

Swamiji: Now we Ramakrishna-ites are not supposed to talk about miracles, because if you base your faith on miracles, and if one day the miracle does not happen, then your faith will fall. You must base your faith on God and God alone, whether God keeps you happy or God keeps you sad.

Another sceptic who was transformed into an ardent devotee by the touch of Sri Ramakrishna’s transmuting power was Girish Chandra Ghosh. His gratitude knew no bounds. In giving expression to it one day he exclaimed, ‘How can I repay or serve him who has enabled me to cross over the sea of this world and a no less terrible sea of scepticism? There is nothing in him I cannot worship. Sri Ramakrishna was like an indulgent mother to me always. He scolded his disciples sometimes but he never scolded me. He came frequently to my house and he was unfailing in his love towards me.’

Swamiji: In this ashram I have experienced something similar. Whenever I came in front of Gurudev [Swamiji’s beloved guru, Swami Nischalananda Puri] he used to tell me ten hundred words [words of correction], but when Vishnupriya [who later passed away from stomach cancer], my gurubhai, came to him, oh, he would pat him and talk so nicely. Jealousy is not a nice thing.

Preparation for Sri Ramakrishna’s mission stretched out for long years. His message was an all-inclusive one. Before Sri Ramakrishna could proclaim it, he had to relate his attainment to every aspiration of the human heart, to every form of religious faith and feeling.

Swamiji: What a heart Sri Ramakrishna had. He wanted all religions to live. He wanted to see the truth in all the other religions because his religion is all-inclusive, non-exclusive.

The free-to-read or download, 396-page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography is available by clicking HERE. If you’d prefer the PDF version, please click HERE.

These recordings or the excerpts from them, were made from the early 1970s onward, by Mother Radha, a close devotee of Swamiji’s and edited for uploading here by our gurubhai and her son, Brother Tim. Please be mindful that what Swamiji was saying may have been specific to an individual or a group of people with him, at the time.