sutra + OM LALA

[Guest guest]

~~~~~~ om shanthi om~~~~~~

 

 

Excerpted from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna p.148

 

Wednesday 15/12/99

 

The Master Said:

 

" As long as his self-analysis is not complete, man argues with

much ado. But he becomes silent when he completes it.

When the empty pitcher has been filled with water,

when the water inside the pitcher becomes one with the water

of the lake outside, no more sound is heard. "

 

om tat sat

 

 

~~~~~~ om shanthi om~~~~~~

 

 

Extrait du Gospel de Sri Ramakrishna p.148

 

Mercredi 15/12/99

 

Le Maitre A indique:

 

" Aussi longtemps que son auto-analyse n'est pas complete,

l'homme discute avec beaucoup d'agitation. Mais, quand il la termine,

il devient silencieux . Quand le pichet vide a ete

rempli avec de l'eau, et quand l'eau a l'interieur du pichet

devient ensemble avec de l'eau du lac dehors,

on n'est entendu plus de bruit "

 

 

 

om tat sat

 

 

~~~~~~om shanthi om~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

Dear OM LALA, I am taking the liberty of reposting your last excellent

message as it seems to have gotten unintentionally

buried at the bottom of the yesterday's list.

 

Thank you for this wonderful article. A humerous thought entered my mind:

In the 1960's, there was an Afro-American TV Comedian named 'Flip Wilson'.

When he was caught at doing something wrong, he would exclaim:

" The devil made me do it " . In a sense, although a dualistic perception,

he was entirely correct.

 

The same applies to good works. As long as we realise that we are the machines,

and God is the Operator, then we are alright. Otherwise, the desire for

recognition, name, fame and other fruits of actions comes up and spoils the

broth.

 

Sri Ramakrishna always stressed this vitally pertinent fact. He advised us to

first discover 'who' we are, and 'then' do good to the world.

As long as we feel that it is 'our little self'

that is accomplishing these things, then we are in 'sin' or in error.

 

+om

 

______________________________\

___

 

 

 

Vidya123

R.K. + V.V. on philanthropy

 

NAMASTE

 

I wrote this artcile for Vivekananda Vidyapith's magazine called " Sapling " ,

a

journal for youngsters. I loved the topic and think it is very necessary

to

share.

 

Hope you enjoy:

 

Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda on Philanthropy

By Om Lala

 

There is a common misconception, among several people, that there lies

a

key difference between the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and his great

disciple Swami Vivekananda. After becoming haphazardly familiar with

the

teachings of both of these spiritual giants, they point out an apparent

 

difference. They claim that Sri Ramakrishna advocated bhakti or devotion

to

God and maintained that doing philanthropic activities further entangles

one

in the net of Maya (Cosmic Illusion) while Swami Vivekananda advocated

action

and tremendous philanthropic activities. We shall now carefully examine

why

this apparent difference between the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami

 

Vivekananda is not valid.

 

When Swami Vivekananda returned to India from his tour in the west,

he

advocated vast social work, preaching, medical and financial relief for

the

poor and many other humanitarian activities for upliftment of the Indian

 

masses. The disciples had great respect for Swamiji as their leader but

 

questioned him doubtfully concerning this point. They claimed that the

 

Master had given emphasis to bhakti alone for spiritual aspirants and that

 

humanitarian activities, organizations, homes of service for the good of

the

public, and patriotic work were Swamiji's own peculiar ideas, which were

the

result of his western education and travel in Europe and America.

At first Swamiji replied with a humorous remark in his usual jovial

 

manner. However, he soon turned very serious and said, " . . . Study, public

 

preaching, and doing humanitarian works are, according to you maya, because

 

he [sri Ramakrishna] said to someone, 'Seek and find God first; doing good

to

the world is a presumption!' as if God is such an easy thing to be achieved!

 

As if He is such a fool as to make Himself a plaything in the hands of

an

imbecile! "

 

" You think you have understood Sri Ramakrishna better than myself!

You

want to preach Sri Ramakrishna as you have understood him, which is mighty

 

little! Hands off! Who cares for your Ramakrishna [the way you have

interpreted him]? Who cares for your bhakti and mukti [liberation]? .

.. . I

will go into a thousand hells cheerfully if I can rouse my countrymen,

 

immersed in tamas [inertia], to stand on their own feet and be men, inspired

 

with the spirit of karma yoga. "

 

" Sri Ramakrishna, " the Swami continued, " is far greater than the

disciples understand him to be. He is the embodiment of infinite spiritual

 

ideas capable of development in infinite ways . . . One glance of his

gracious eyes can create a hundred thousand Vivekanandas at this instant.

If

he chooses now, to work through me, making me his instrument, I can only

bow

to his will. " Swamiji's voice was choked with emotion, his body trembled,

 

his eyes flashed fire. Swamiji knew that India was immersed in tamas,

and

first needed tremendous action to regain her past glory. He knew that

 

spirutality was not the great need of India; for India had mnore spirituality

 

than any other nation and yet could not even feed herself. Going by the

 

saying of Sri Ramakrishna, " Religion is not for empty stomachs, " he knew

that

much work had to be done to uplift the indian masses. The brother disciples

 

were dumbfounded and regretted to have doubted their hero and leader.

 

 

One can verify whether Sri Ramakrishna advocated philanthropic works

or

not, simply by looking at his life. Sri Ramakrishna's whole existence

was

for the sake of others. For the sake of rejuvenating religion in this

age

and for saving the afflicted, the fallen, the down-trodden, he manifested

 

himself out of his own infinite compassion. Once, Sri Ramakrishna was

on a

pilgrimage with Mathur Babu. They were passing through a village filled

with

poor and homeless people. At the sight of so many suffering people, Sri

 

Ramakrishna refused to go any further and demanded that Mathur Babu give

all

of those people food, clothing, and money. He sat beside all the poor

people

and said with tender love, " They have no one to call their own. " After

Sri

Ramakrishna's repeated insistence, Mathur had to give in and supply all

the

poor people of the village with all that they needed.

 

When the Master was at Cossipore being treated for throat Cancer, he

was

told by the doctor not to talk at all and avoid spiritual ecstasy as they

 

both caused aggravation to his cancer. At Cossipore, thousands of people

 

used to come to the Master for spiritual guidance and, even though it caused

 

him great pain in the throat, he spoke unceasingly to all, giving them

 

motherly guidance, and filled their hearts with bliss. He himself said

that

he had acquired the disease because he had taken the sins of many people

upon

himself. These are just a few of many examples showing the Master's

fathomless grace and compassion for others.

 

It is interesting to note that this so-called alien idea of Swami

Vivekananda for humanitarian work and service actually originated from

Sri

Ramakrishna. One day Sri Ramakrishna was talking to his younger disciples

 

about the virtue of compassion. While repeating the word compassion, he

went

into samadhi [total absorbtion in God-consciousness]. After some time

he

came back to normal consciousness and said to the devotees: " How foolish

to

speak of compassion! Man is an insignificant worm crawling on the earth

-

and he is to show compassion on others! This is absurd. It must not be

 

compassion, but service to all. Recognize them as God's manifestations

and

serve them. " Narendra, the future Swami Vivekananda, was struck dumb at

 

these words. He left the room with his brother disciples and said to the

 

others with great enthusiasm, " What a wonderful light I have discovered

in

those words of the Master! How beautifully he has reconciled the ideal

of

bhakti with the knowledge of Vedanta, generally interpreted as dry, austere,

 

and incompatible with human sentiments! What a grand, natural and sweet

 

synthesis! . . . Those following the paths of karma [action] and yoga

[contemplation] are similarly benefited by these words of the Master.

The

embodied being cannot remain even for a minute without activity. All his

 

activities should be directed toward the service of man, the manifestation

of

God upon earth, and this will accelerate his progress towards the goal.

If

it be the will of God, I shall one day proclaim this noble truth before

the

world at large. I shall make it the common property of all-the wise and

the

foolish, the rich and the poor, the brahmin and the pariah. " This is exactly

 

what Swamiji did in the later stages of his life. The other disciples of

Sri

Ramakrishna who were present that day could not fathom the true import

of the

great meaning in these words of the Master and Swamiji at that point.

It can

be said that the message of Sri Ramakrishna was most vividly understood

and

interpreted by Swami Vivekananda.

 

If one searches sincerely in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, one finds

 

countless examples of Sri Ramakrishna advocating good works as spiritual

 

discipline. For example, when Sri Ramakrishna visited Ishwar Chandra

Vidyasagar, a great humanitarian worker of that time, he said to him, " The

 

activities you are engaged in are good. It is very good if you can perform

 

them in a selfless spirit, renouncing egotism, giving up the idea that

you

are the doer. Through such action, one develops love and devotion to God,

 

and ultimately realizes Him. . . . By these philanthropic activities,

you

are really doing good to yourself. If you can do them disinterestedly,

your

mind will become pure and you will develop love for God. As soon as you

have

that love, you will realize Him. . . . " Swamiji's lectures in the latter

 

part of his life seemed to echo this message of the Master. Swamiji said

to

an audience once, " If I have told you one word of truth, it was his [sri

 

Ramakrishna's] and his alone; and if I have told you many things which

were

not true, which were not correct, which were not beneficial to the human

 

race, they were all mine and on me is the responsibility. "

 

It is most necessary to note that Sri Ramakrishna's and Swamiji's advocation

 

of philanthropy was for the sole purpose of going further on the path of

 

spirituality. One does not derive any benefit from doing humanitarian

works

if one does not do them in a spirit of service and worship to God.

Humanitarian works without the spiritual aim in mind is not karma yoga,

it is

only karma and only further binds one in maya. The goal, as Swamiji said,

is

to " manifest the divinity within. " Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji advocated

 

humanitarian works, and in fact all works, to be performed for this goal

 

alone. One should make a synthesis of all the four yogas (karma, bhakti,

 

jnana, and raja) for the attainment of this goal.

 

Indeed, it is impossible to separate Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda

or

their messages. They are in reality one and the same person, with one

and

the same message. This is why Swami Saradananda said, " Bold is he who

can

separate Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. " One finds that the

teachings of Swami Vivekananda fully coincide and complement the teachings

of

Sri Ramakrishna; in fact that is all they do. How could their teachings

be

contradicting or different? Sri Ramakrishna brought Swami Vivekananda with

 

him for the very purpose of having his own message propagated to all beings.

 

At the time of Sri Ramakrishna's Mahasamadhi, he transmitted all of his

 

spiritual power to him for solely this purpose. As Mahapurush Swami

Shivananda Maharaj, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the second president

of

the Ramakrishna Mission and Order, said, " The Master is the Veda, and Swamiji

 

is the commentary. " When Swamiji returned to India from the West, he said

 

openly, " Do you think I gave those lectures? It was the Master who spoke

 

through me. " Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, as one entity, will

 

inspire men and women all over the world with their message: " For one's

own

salvation, and for the good of the world. "

 

<><><><>

 

 

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

Message: 13

Mon, 13 Dec 1999 17:37:54 EST

Vidya123

DO NOT DELETE!!!!!

 

NAMASTE

 

My name is Om Lala and I attend a character building school for youngsters

 

called

“Vivekananda Vidyapith†in Wayne, New Jersey. Last year, as a fundraiser

 

for the

construction of Vidyapith’s new building, I had created a calendar

(professionally printed, of course) denoting the birthdays of Sri

Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna’s Apostles,

and

the prophets/saints of all religions. I had also included their teachings

as

well as many other religious holidays of different traditions.

 

Now, for the year 2000, I have created another calendar, made in the same

 

format.

The quotes are VERY VERY VERY inspiring and each month has a specific topic.

 

These calendars are available for purchase at $11.00 each. The money raised

 

will go to the continuing construction project of the Vidyapith building.

 

Checks should be made out to “Vivekananda Vidyapith.†Anyone interested,

 

can e-mail me at the following address:

 

Vidya123

 

In your order, you must include the address of your residence and the number

 

of calendars you want. When I receive the order I will mail you the

calendars and then you can send the money (you may pay more than the minimum

 

price as an extra donation to the Vidyapith but there is no obligation).

 

Remember, it makes a great gift!

 

Yours at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna,

 

Om

 

 

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