Sri Ramakrishna's Message of Peace to a Strife-Torn World.

[Guest guest]

Sri Ramakrishna's Message of Peace to a Strife-Torn World. - Swami

Sarvapriyananda The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order,

serving at the Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Pitha, Belur Math.¨ (From

The Vedanta Keshari: Published by the Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)

Excerpts: The Sevenfold Harmony A crisp bit of analysis of Sri

Ramakrishna's message by Swami Ghanananda, a senior monk of the

Ramakrishna order, reveals a sevenfold harmony.2 While we have taken

considerable liberty with Swami Ghananandaji's terminology, what

follows below is the essence of his analysis; it is a sweeping (and

breathtaking) philosophical vision of the harmony which is the

birthright of each human being and of mankind as a whole. 1. The

Harmony of Religions: All religions are true as they are paths to

the same goal of superconscious realisation. The light of the spirit

comes from the same source, but is expressed differently. He even

held that the avatara is always one and the same. 'Plunging into the

ocean of life, He rises up in one place and is known as Krishna;

diving again and rising elsewhere, He is known as Christ.'3 His

well-known analogy was that of water in a pond--people call it jal,

pani, aqua and so on, but, all the while it is the same water. The

importance of this insight cannot be undervalued, even in this 21st

century. It is true that the modern man isn't very concerned about

religious quarrels (with a few notable exceptions, of course); in

most free societies you are unlikely to be persecuted for your

religious beliefs. But, this 'liberalism' is born of indifference;

large numbers of people have actually lost interest in God. They are

neither theistic nor atheistic, nor even agnostic--they are simply

not interested.Sri Ramakrishna's harmony of religions is very

different from this vacuous liberalism of unbelief. His universalism

was born of living experience in each of the various faiths he

actually practised. 2. The Harmony of Philosophies: Sri Ramakrishna

taught that spiritual life begins with dualism, proceeds through

qualified non-dualism, and culminates in non- dualism. The sadhaka

believes that there is a fundamental difference between his own self

and God. Then he experiences God as the whole of which he is a part,

and finally, comes the realisation that duality is an illusion, the

non-dual reality being all that truly exists. Dvaita, Visishtadvaita,

and Advaita are all true and, indeed, are important stages in the

spiritual journey of man. Here lies the resolution of a philosophical

war which has witnessed a thousand years of polemics, at the very

least. 3. The Harmony of Sadhana: All spiritual practices (yogas) can

be classified into four main groups--jnana-yoga (the path of

knowledge), bhakti-yoga (the path of devotion), karma-yoga (the path

of work), and raja-yoga (the path of meditation). Sri Ramakrishna

experienced the truth by all these paths and thus reconciled them. He

proclaimed: 'Knowledge and Love of God are ultimately one. There is no

difference between pure Knowledge and pure Love.'4. The Harmony

Between the Personal and Impersonal Aspects of God: Sri Ramakrishna

also reconciled the ideal of the Personal God and the impersonal

Absolute, as well as the various forms of Personal God. When water

freezes into ice it assumes various forms and when ice melts all

forms disappear into water. In the same way, forms arise out of the

Formless. Sri Ramakrishna warned all those who came to him, not be

narrow and sectarian, not to put a limit to the manifestations of

God. Brahman and Shakti are one, declared Sri Ramakrishna time and

again. We see how he enlightened even the great Advaitist Totapuri,

his own Guru, about the reality of Personal God. At the same time, he

taught that one should concentrate on one's own ishta (the chosen

ideal). 5. The Harmony Between Different Superconscious Realisations:

The two major categories of superconscious realisation are savikalpa

samadhi and nirvikalpa samadhi. Savikalpa samadhi prepares the path

to the realisation of the Absolute, nirvikalpa samadhi. Shakti

reveals Brahman. Swami Brahmananda used to say, 'Mother has the keys

to Brahmajnana. Without Her grace, nothing is possible.' Sri

Ramakrishna said, 'It is within Her (Divine Mother's) power to give

Brahmajnana, which She does by causing the effacement of the lower

self.' In simpler terms, meditation on a form of God prepares the

mind for meditation on his impersonal aspect. 6. The Harmony of Sects

Within the Same Religion: It is often true that sects within a

religion are more virulently opposed to each other than religions are

to one another. Shias and Sunnis, Catholics and Protestants, Shakta

and Vaishnava--the bitter list of intra-religious disputes, sometimes

openly violent, sometimes polemical, is endless. Sri Ramakrishna

stressed the basic unity of the different forms of God. Just as sugar

is shaped into various forms--dolls, birds, horses, and elephants--and

yet, remains the same sugar, God assumes various forms--Kali, Krishna,

Shiva--for His devotee. Sri Ramakrishna's parable of the chameleon is

highly instructive in this context. Various people saw a chameleon in

different shades of colour; they fell into argument about the true

colour of the animal. Was it red, green or blue? Then, a man who

lived under the tree and had seen the chameleon in all its colours

came forward and said, 'The chameleon is red, green, blue, and so

many other colours. It is also colourless at times!' So is thereality

of God. 7. The Harmony of Duties of Different Varnas and Ashramas:

Each station in life (ashrama) and each division of society (varna)

has its own ideal. Sri Ramakrishna held that whatever the varna or

the ashrama, God is the goal, and so everybody should do his utmost

to realise God in this life. Superiority does not depend on varna or

ashrama. Human qualities are more important. He used a pun to explain

it. 'He is a man (manush) who has discrimination (man and hunsh).' [in

Bengali, it means one whose man, i.e. mind, is hunsh, i.e. alert.]

[Guest guest]

Dear Saint,

 

Thank you many times over for this. Glad we have it in the

"congressional record" to refer to.

 

It reads like a manifesto for the Satya(-ananda) Yuga.

 

Respectfully.

 

Tanmaya

 

 

 

, shaktimaa wrote:

>

> Sri Ramakrishna's Message of Peace to a Strife-Torn World.

> - Swami Sarvapriyananda

> The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, serving at the

> Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Pitha, Belur Math.¨

> (From The Vedanta Keshari: Published by the Ramakrishna Math,

> Chennai)

>

> Excerpts:

>

> The Sevenfold Harmony

> A crisp bit of analysis of Sri Ramakrishna's message by Swami

> Ghanananda, a senior monk of the Ramakrishna order, reveals a

> sevenfold harmony.2 While we have taken considerable liberty with

> Swami Ghananandaji's terminology, what follows below is the essence

> of his analysis; it is a sweeping (and breathtaking) philosophical

> vision of the harmony which is the birthright of each human being

> and of mankind as a whole.

>

> 1. The Harmony of Religions:

> All religions are true as they are paths to the same goal of

> superconscious realisation. The light of the spirit comes from the

> same source, but is expressed differently. He even held that the

> avatara is always one and the same. 'Plunging into the ocean of

> life, He rises up in one place and is known as Krishna; diving again

> and rising elsewhere, He is known as Christ.'3 His well-known

> analogy was that of water in a pond--people call it jal, pani, aqua

> and so on, but, all the while it is the same water. The importance

> of this insight cannot be undervalued, even in this 21st century. It

> is true that the modern man isn't very concerned about religious

> quarrels (with a few notable exceptions, of course); in most free

> societies you are unlikely to be persecuted for your religious

> beliefs. But, this 'liberalism' is born of indifference; large

> numbers of people have actually lost interest in God. They are

> neither theistic nor atheistic, nor even agnostic--they are simply

> not interested.

>

> Sri Ramakrishna's harmony of religions is very different from this

> vacuous liberalism of unbelief. His universalism was born of living

> experience in each of the various faiths he actually practised.

>

> 2. The Harmony of Philosophies:

> Sri Ramakrishna taught that spiritual life begins with dualism,

> proceeds through qualified non-dualism, and culminates in non-

> dualism. The sadhaka believes that there is a fundamental difference

> between his own self and God. Then he experiences God as the whole

> of which he is a part, and finally, comes the realisation that

> duality is an illusion, the non-dual reality being all that truly

> exists. Dvaita, Visishtadvaita, and Advaita are all true and,

> indeed, are important stages in the spiritual journey of man. Here

> lies the resolution of a philosophical war which has witnessed a

> thousand years of polemics, at the very least.

>

> 3. The Harmony of Sadhana:

> All spiritual practices (yogas) can be classified into four main

> groups--jnana-yoga (the path of knowledge), bhakti-yoga (the path of

> devotion), karma-yoga (the path of work), and raja-yoga (the path of

> meditation). Sri Ramakrishna experienced the truth by all these

> paths and thus reconciled them. He proclaimed: 'Knowledge and Love

> of God are ultimately one. There is no difference between pure

> Knowledge and pure Love.'

>

> 4. The Harmony Between the Personal and Impersonal Aspects of God:

> Sri Ramakrishna also reconciled the ideal of the Personal God and

> the impersonal Absolute, as well as the various forms of Personal

> God. When water freezes into ice it assumes various forms and when

> ice melts all forms disappear into water. In the same way, forms

> arise out of the Formless. Sri Ramakrishna warned all those who came

> to him, not be narrow and sectarian, not to put a limit to the

> manifestations of God. Brahman and Shakti are one, declared Sri

> Ramakrishna time and again. We see how he enlightened even the great

> Advaitist Totapuri, his own Guru, about the reality of Personal God.

> At the same time, he taught that one should concentrate on one's own

> ishta (the chosen ideal).

>

> 5. The Harmony Between Different Superconscious Realisations:

> The two major categories of superconscious realisation are savikalpa

> samadhi and nirvikalpa samadhi. Savikalpa samadhi prepares the path

> to the realisation of the Absolute, nirvikalpa samadhi. Shakti

> reveals Brahman. Swami Brahmananda used to say, 'Mother has the keys

> to Brahmajnana. Without Her grace, nothing is possible.' Sri

> Ramakrishna said, 'It is within Her (Divine Mother's) power to give

> Brahmajnana, which She does by causing the effacement of the lower

> self.' In simpler terms, meditation on a form of God prepares the

> mind for meditation on his impersonal aspect.

>

> 6. The Harmony of Sects Within the Same Religion:

> It is often true that sects within a religion are more virulently

> opposed to each other than religions are to one another. Shias and

> Sunnis, Catholics and Protestants, Shakta and Vaishnava--the bitter

> list of intra-religious disputes, sometimes openly violent,

> sometimes polemical, is endless. Sri Ramakrishna stressed the basic

> unity of the different forms of God. Just as sugar is shaped into

> various forms--dolls, birds, horses, and elephants--and yet, remains

> the same sugar, God assumes various forms--Kali, Krishna, Shiva--for

> His devotee. Sri Ramakrishna's parable of the chameleon is highly

> instructive in this context. Various people saw a chameleon in

> different shades of colour; they fell into argument about the true

> colour of the animal. Was it red, green or blue? Then, a man who

> lived under the tree and had seen the chameleon in all its colours

> came forward and said, 'The chameleon is red, green, blue, and so

> many other colours. It is also colourless at times!' So is the

> reality of God.

>

> 7. The Harmony of Duties of Different Varnas and Ashramas:

> Each station in life (ashrama) and each division of society (varna)

> has its own ideal. Sri Ramakrishna held that whatever the varna or

> the ashrama, God is the goal, and so everybody should do his utmost

> to realise God in this life. Superiority does not depend on varna or

> ashrama. Human qualities are more important. He used a pun to

> explain it. 'He is a man (manush) who has discrimination (man and

> hunsh).' [in Bengali, it means one whose man, i.e. mind, is hunsh,

> i.e. alert.]

>