The Experience of Enlightenment

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SSS

 

Sri Ramakrishna gives Vivekananda a taste of the Advaitha (non-

dualistic) state.

 

Sri Ramakrishna wanted to initiate his new pupil, Narendra, into

Advaitha Vedanta (the teaching that all this is only the One) and so

gave him several Advaitha treatises to read. But the earlier

religious background of Narendra would not allow him to accept such

teachings. He would rebel saying " It is blasphemy, there is no

difference from such philosophy and Atheism. There is no greater sin

in the world than to think of oneself as identical with the Creator.

I am God, you are God, these created things are God - what can be

more absurd than this. The sages who wrote such things must have been

insane. " Sri Ramakrishna was amused at his pupil's bluntness but told

him to go on praying to the God of truth and to believe in whatever

aspect of Him that was revealed to him. Narendra however, considered

the teachings false and continued to resist and ridicule them. But

Sri Ramakrishna knew that Narendra was on the path of Jnana (the

higher knowledge) and therefore continued to espouse the Advaithic

point of view to him. One day he tried to convince Narendra that he

was identical with Brahmam. Narendra left the room and began to

discuss the situation with his friend Hazra. He said: " How can that

be? This jug is God, this cup is God, whatever we see is God, and we,

too are God! Nothing can be more preposterous! " Hazra joined in this

criticism and both laughed. Sri Ramakrishna was in his room in a

state partly in the Samadhi consciousness and partly in this world.

Hearing Narendra's laughter he came out to talk to them. " Hello! What

are you talking about? " he said smiling and touched Narendra, who

immediately plunged into full Samadhi. Narendra described the effect

of the touch:

 

" That magic touch of the Master immediately brought a change over my

mind. I was stupefied to find that really there was nothing in the

universe but God! I saw it quite clearly but kept silent, to see if

the idea would last. But that influence did not abate in the course

of the day. I returned home, but there, too, everything I saw

appeared to be Brahmam. I sat down to take my meal, but found that

everything - the food, the plate, the person who served, and even

myself - was nothing but That. I ate a morsel or two and sat still. I

was startled by my mother's words, 'Why do you sit still? Finish your

meal.', and began to eat again. But all the while whether eating or

lying down or going to college, I had the same experience and felt

myself always in a sort of comatose state. While walking in the

streets, I noticed cabs plying, but I did not feel inclined to move

out of the way, for I felt that the cabs and myself were of one

stuff. There was no sensation in my limbs, which I thought were

becoming paralyzed. I had no satisfaction from eating and felt as

though someone else were eating. Sometimes I lay down during a meal

and after a few minutes got up and began to eat again. The result

would be that on some days I would take too much, but it seemed to do

no harm. My mother became alarmed and said that there must be

something wrong with me. She was afraid that I would not live long.

When this state altered a little, the world began to appear to me as

a dream. While walking in Cornwallis Square, I would strike my head

against the iron railings to see if they were real or only a dream.

This state of things continued for some days. When I became normal

again, I realized that I must have had a glimpse of the Advaitha

state. Then it struck me that the words of the scriptures were not

false. Thenceforth I could not deny the conclusions of the Advaitha

philosophy.

 

Source: 'The complete works of swami vivekananda'

 

SSS