Talks Excerpt 687 and 688 combined. Swamiji explains the difference between real and fake trance states.
From Mother Radha’s recordings of Swamiji.
Excerpt 687:
The word trance means, ‘in a different state of consciousness’. Some people are absorbed in the consciousness of Kali; others in the consciousness of Hanumanji and yet others, in the consciousness of Durga. But the test of the real trance, is that when you return to the normal state of consciousness, you will be transformed, you will be like a saint.
Some people go into a state of ‘trance’ today, but the next day they tell lies and rob others. They are not people of good character, so their experience is not spiritual.
The real trance, as Sri Ramakrishna experienced it, transcended human nature and established itself in Divine Nature. On coming down from there he was not able to speak a single lie, he was not able to hurt anyone or make demands. His mind was far beyond the sense world and he saw God in all.
I will wash the feet of the trance that increases love for God’s Lotus Feet.
In a state of trance, one experiences a special vibration. People think that it is divine, and fall at the person’s feet. But the next time the person calls for the trance the trance does not come, so he has to jump about and pretend to be in a spiritual mood. Otherwise no one will fall at his feet.
Devotee: What actually happens when someone in a trance says that it is one of the gods or goddesses speaking? Swamiji: You have to be very careful about this. These are not truly evolved divine spirits. A person, under the guise of Kali, Durga or Bandi, eats prasad and enjoys himself while you think one of the gods is eating.
Excerpt 688:
Devotee: What is meant by ‘speaking in tongues’?
Swamiji: When Christ said ‘love’, each one heard the word in his own language. The Hindi speaking man would hear it as ‘prema’, the English-speaking man would hear it as ‘love’. That is speaking in tongues.
Vidya maya will make you pure, loving and God-loving. Avidya maya will make you more entangled in curing [healing], trances, and other powers; and your life will not be transformed. Incarnations like Sri Ramakrishna, whose life was merged in God, taught us about vidya maya.
My [premonastic] father used to get into trance. My grandfather used to get into trance. But when it came to me, I said, ‘No, I have transcended this already,’ and all that stopped.
If you want to ask God for something, ask for bhakti and jnana. Nobody can take these away from you. Only ask for these two things; do not ask for anything else. We do not want powers.
Sri Ramakrishna at one time tested Naren [the premonastic Swami Vivekananda]. He said, ‘I have the eight yogic powers. If you want them, take them.’ But Swami Vivekananda said, ‘Can they give me God-realisation?’ Master said, ‘No.’ So Swami Vivekananda said, ‘Then I don’t want them.’
That is the calibre to which we belong. If others want to get into a trance, let them. There is nothing wrong. Sri Krishna said in the [Bhagavad] Gita: ‘Whatsoever you desire, I give.’ You like something; and what you like, you get. So if He is giving it to you, you are desiring it. So rather learn to progress and become transformed into better people.
The free-to-read or download, 396-page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography, ‘A Life Lived For Others‘, is available by clicking HERE. If you’d prefer the PDF version, please click HERE.
For our gurubhai Atmaprakash Kramer’s beautiful pictorial ‘memoir’ of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Avoca Ashram, 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.