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Extarct from SRI RAMKRISHNA VACHANAMRITA

 

It was afternoon. The Master was sitting in his room at Dakshineswar

with M. and one or two other devotees. Several Marwari devotees

arrived and saluted the Master. They requested Sri Ramakrishna to

give them spiritual instruction. He smiled.

Turning passions to God

MASTER (to the Marwari devotees): "You see, the feeling of 'I'

and 'mine' is the result of ignorance. But to say, 'O God, Thou art

the Doer; all these belong to Thee' is the sign of Knowledge. How can

you say such a thing as 'mine'? The superintendent of the garden

says, 'This is my garden.' But if he is dismissed because of some

misconduct, then he does not have the courage to take away even such

a worthless thing as his mango-wood box. Anger and lust cannot be

destroyed. Turn them toward God. If you must feel desire and

temptation, then desire to realize God, feel tempted by Him.

Discriminate and turn the passions away from worldly objects. When

the elephant is about to devour a plantain-tree in someone's garden,

the mahut strikes it with his iron-tipped goad.

 

"You are merchants. You know how to improve your business

gradually. Some of you start with a castor-oil factory. After making

some money at that, you open a cloth shop. In the same way, one makes

progress toward God. It may be that you go into solitude, now and

then, and devote more time to prayer.

 

"But you must remember that nothing can be achieved except in its

proper time. Some persons must pass through many experiences and

perform many worldly duties before they can turn their attention to

God; so they have to wait a long time. If an abscess is lanced before

it is soft, the result is not good; the surgeon makes the opening

when it is soft and has come to a head. Once a child said to its

mother: 'Mother, I am going to sleep now. Please wake me up when I

feel the call of nature.' 'My child,' said the mother, 'when it is

time for that, you will wake up yourself. I shan't have to wake

you.' "

 

The Marwari devotees generally brought offerings of fruit, candy,

and other sweets for the Master. But Sri Ramakrishna could hardly eat

them. He would say: "They earn their money by falsehood. I can't eat

their offerings." He said to the Marwaris: "You see, one can't

strictly adhere to truth in business. There are ups and downs in

business. Nanak once said, 'I was about to eat the food of unholy

people, when I found it stained with blood.' A man should offer only

pure things to holy men. He shouldn't give them food earned by

dishonest means. God is realized by following the path of truth. One

should always chant His name. Even while one is performing one's

duties, the mind should be left with God. Suppose I have a carbuncle

in my back. I perform my duties, but the mind is drawn to the

carbuncle. It is good to repeat the name of Rama. 'The same Rama who

was the son of King Dasaratha has created this world. Again, as

Spirit, He pervades all beings. He is very near us; He is both within

and without.' "