Digest Number 2044

[Guest guest]

Regarding various paointed questions raised:

 

It is easy for us to say that " I am God, I am the

witness " . But this must be the result of our

experience;otherwise it is of no use to say it. To

experience that state like Sri Ramakrishna who went

beyond his body and mind, we need Saadhana or constant

practice. We need to go from elementary school to

middle school, to high school, college before we get

the Ph.d. right? Similarly,we need some idol or

thought which helps us to focus on God. every religion

advocates worship. Christians stand before the Cross

which is nothing but an idol that helps them to focus

their minds on GOd. Islam uses Kaaba, the sacred

stone. Hindus use different idols. So essentially

everyone needs some idol tofocus his or hermind on

God. This is the approach to non-duality through

duality. So When Sri Ramkrishna Paramahamsa says that

Kali told me this or that he is speaking from his

experience and Kali is a gneric term and should not be

interpreted as a person , a lady coming to Sri

Ramakrishna and speaking to him. Similarly when he

told Narendra that " You can see God; you can talk to

God " this is figurative and should notbe taken

literally. We are the witness. I am the witness and so

I am not the doer is the highest stage in self

realization. This is the state of supreme bliss-Anand

and this happiness is beyond the pleasures and pains

of sensuous happiness and pain. Sri Ramkarishna was

beyond religion. Religion prescribes rules for our

life; religion tells us how to pray, how to worship,

talks about rituals and their effects. All this is

needed just as we all needed to go to elementary

school. But at some point, we all need to decide that

it is time to move from elementary school to high

school and beyond and we should not get stuck with

religion just because it is easy to grasp. Religion

appeals to the mind whereas spirituality takes us

beyond the body and mind. When we transend religions

and delve into the world of philosophy and practice

contemplation, our outlook becomes very broad. Sri

Ramkrishna experienced that all religions are just the

paths to realize God and not God itself. So to him,

Jesus, Allah Krishna were all he same God but

different expressions of the divine.Let us not get

mixed up with the path and the ultimate goal. But

without a path, we cannot reach the goal. Greatest

saints such as Shankaracharya, who preached

non-dualism still were great devotees of

Gods/Goddesses such as Lakshmi, Durga, Krishna, Rama

etc. and worshipped manifestations of divine spirit in

such forms as Kali, Siva, Krishna etc. So we need to

use the tools of worship, prayer , meditation, satsang

etc. effectively to realize ourselves, our true

nature, wich is Para Bramha.

 

I hoe I have been helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

FRIENDS,

THIS IS WHAT I UNDERSTAND FROM SRI RAMAKRISHNA LITERATURE.

Clarifications:

 

i would like to clarify some of my doubts.

 

1)swamiji tells us to repeat soham which means 'i am

he' in the sense of asking us to identify ourselves

with the all-pervading lord.

 

THESE ARE VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF MIND.

ONE IS ENTITLED TO SAY ‘SOHAM’ ONLY WHEN HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY BODY

CONSCIOUSNESS. AND THIS HAPPENS ONLY WHEN ONE HAS REALISED GOD! SO SAYS

SRI RAMAKRISHNA.

 

2)in another lecture he tells us that we are the

witness and not the doer.

 

DURING SADHANA ONE HAS TO TRAIN HIMSELF TO HAVE THIS ATTITUDE TOWARDS

WORLD AND ITS ACTIVITIES TO ESCAPE THE EFFECT OF KARMA AND GET

PROGRESSIVELY PURIFIED.

 

3)he also tells us that the knower cannot be

known,because then the knower would not remain the

knower.

 

THIS IS THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION WHEN A PERSON REACHES THE NON-DUAL STAGE

OF MIND. AT THAT POINT HE IS MERGED IN GOD. KNOWER AND KNOWN ARE THEN

ONE. REMEMBER THE PARABLE OF ‘SALT DOLL MEASURING THE DEPTH OF SEA’

TOLD BY SRI RAMAKRISHNA!

 

Pointed questions:

 

i am god my " self " ........if this is true, then who to pray and why to

pray? no prayers..isn't it? prayer is to self and all other gods who

have realised and who havn't!! why pray at all if you realise the

brahman!

 

THIS IS SIMILAR TO CLARIFICATION 1. ABOVE. IN A WAY PRAYER TO SELF IS

ALSO HELPFUL IN PSYCHOLOGICALY BOOSTING ONE’S MIND TO EXERT AND ACHIEVE

WHAT IS BEING PRAYED FOR. WHEN ONE BECOMES BRAHAMAN, THERE IS NO

QUESTION OF PRAYER. PRAYER IS NEEDED WHEN THE DIFFERENCE IS STILL

MAINTAINED, WHEN THERE IS STILL BODY CONSCIOUSNESS!

 

moreover...ramakrishna paramahamsa is a non dualist, then what about

all those things on talking to kali etc,...in the sense ramakrishna

says

to vivekananda things like.....u don't believe in kali......the mother

 

told me this and that!!!

 

THIS IS NOT CORRECT! SRI RAMAKRISHNA WAS BOTH—NON-DUAL STAGE WHEN IN

NIRVIKALP SAMADHI AND REST OF THE TIME IN ‘BHAVAMUKH’ WHICH IS

BORDERLINE BETWEEN DUAL AND NON-DUAL STAGE AS SWAMI SARADANANDA SAYS IN

HIS BOOK ‘SRI RAMAKRISHNA – THE GREAT MASTER’. HE WAS CHILD OF MOTHER

KALI AND LOVED TO REMAIN SO MOST OF THE TIME.

 

Clarification of practicing Islam and Christianity:

 

1. We all know Sri Ramakrishna practiced various sectors in Hinduism

and other religions.What is meant there by his " practicing " ? Becuase if

 

you take the Christian relgion, you can practice that religion only

after accepting Christ as your way. After accepting Christ path, you if

you

go out to practice your own, you are belived to be cheating.

 

SRI RAMAKRISHNA FOLLOWED CHRIST’S INSTRUCTIONS TO REACH THE HIGHEST AND

FOUND IT TO BE THE SAME WHAT HE HAD ALREADY REALISED. IN VISION HE SAW

CHRIST MERGEING IN HIS BODY. HE NEVER BECAME A CHRISTIAN. LATER MANY

CHRISTIANS VISITED HIM AND BOWED BEFORE HIM SAYING THEY SAW CHRIST IN

HIM. THERE IS A DISTINCTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND CHRCHANITY. TODAY

IT IS CHURCHAINITY WHICH FLOURISHES AND THERE ARE SO MANY TYPES OF

CHURCHES SWERING BY THE SAME CHRIST!

2. Did Sri Ramakrishna accepted Christinanity or Jesus? Either way, how

 

can he return to worship Kali?

 

HE WAS CHILD OF KALI FROM BEGINNING TO END. HE FOLLOWED AS MANY PATHS

AS POSSIBLE FOR REACHING ONE GOD IRRESPECTIVE OF BY WHAT NAME IT WAS

CALLED; AND FOUND THE SAME RESULT.

 

3. What is meant by practicing Islam? Then why didn't he continued the

islamic or christianity path? why he returned to worship Kali?

 

HE NEVER BECAME A MUSLIM OR CHRISTIAN ANY TIME. HE ONLY PRACTICED THE

METHODOLOGY GIVEN IN THESE FAITHS TO VERIFY THE END RESULT WHICH WAS

THE SAME AS HE HAD ALREADY REALISED. AND HE ACHIEVED THE SAME WITHIN

THREE DAYS BY PRACTICING THEIR METHODOLOGY.

HE WAS AND REMAINED WORSHIPPER OF KALI ALL HIS LIFE.

NAMASKARS

CHETAN

 

 

Chetan Merani