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My master

3 1924 022 930 907

Cornell University Library

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tine

original of

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book

is in

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the United States on the use of the

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022930907

MY MASTER

MY MASTER

SWAMI iVIVEKANANDA

WITH AN APPENDED EXTRACT

FROM THE

THEISTIC QUARTERLY REVIEW

NEW YORK

THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY

1901

^loi

k%sr

Copyright, igoi,

BY

THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY

ROBERT DRUMMOND, PRINTER* NEW YORK

Om Namo Bhagavate Rdmakrishndya

(Salutation to Blessed

RUmakrishna

I)

PREFACE
The following lecture, which was delivered New York under the auspices of the
briefly

in

Vedanta Society, describes

most remarkable

one of the

men

that India has given to

the nineteenth century.

He was known

as
is

Paramhamsa Srimat Ramakrishna, and

men
tion.

regarded by thousands of his fellow-countryas

a Divine Incarnation, although he

for himself

would not claim

any high
is

posi-

The

influence of his teachings

in all

mak-

ing

itself felt

parts of India, and has

even extended to Europe and America.

The

frontispiece represents the temple near

last

which he passed the

years of his

life.

He

lived in a small house in the extensive gardens

surrounding the temple, and great crowds of

people came to
listen to
vii

his words.

Since

PREFACE
his death a yearly festival has

been held on
is

the anniversary of his birth, arid

each year

attended by increasing numbers.

The

title

Paramhamsa means,
and
is

literally, "

Great Soul,"

given by the Hindus to such

men

only

as have attained to the highest spiritual illumination.

Srimat

is

title

of respect,

and

is

used here in the sense of " most revered."

The Editor.
viii

MY MASTER
tt\\7HENEVER virtue subsides and vice
prevails, I

come down

to help

man-

kind," declares Krishna, in the

Gita.

Bhagavad

Whenever

this

world of ours, on accir-

count of growth, on account of added

cumstances, requires a

new

adjustment, a
is

wave

of

power

.comes,

and as man

acting

on two planes, the

rial,

spiritual

and the mate-

waves of adjustment come on both

planes.

On

the one side, of adjustment

on

the material plane, Europe has mainly been

the basis during

modern

times, and of the

spiritual plane,
his-

adjustment on the other, the

Asia 'has been the basis throughout the

tory of the world.

To-day,

man

requires

one more adjustment on the

to-day,

spiritual plane;

when

material ideas
9

are

at

the

MY MASTER
height of their glory and power; to-day,

when man
ture,

is

Ukely to forget his divine nahis

through
is

growing dependence on
be reduced to a mere
is

matter, and

likely to

money-making machine, an adjustment

necessary,

and the power

is

coming, the

voice has spoken, to drive

of gathering materialism.

away the clouds

The power
at

has

been
will

set in

motion which,

no distant

date,

bring unto mankind once more the

of their real nature,

memory

and again the

will start will
is

place from which this

power

be Asia.

This world of ours

on the plan
vain to say

of the division of labor.

It is

that one

man shall possess

!

everything.

Yet

how childish we are

The baby
is

in his child-

ishness thinks that his doll

session that
universe.
is

the only posin this

is

to

be coveted

whole

So a nation which

great in the

possession of material powers thinks that

that
is all

that

is

to be coveted, that that

10

is

MY MASTER
all

that
is

is

meant by progress, that that

civilization,

is all

that

meant by

and

if

there are

other nations which do not care to possess,

and do not possess these powers, they

not
less.
fit

are

to live, their whole existence

is

use-

On

the other hand, another nation

is

may

think that mere material civilization

utterly useless.

From

the Orient

came the
if

voice which once told the world that

man

possess everything- that

it,

is

under the
spirit-

sun or above
uality,

and does not possess

it?

what matters
the other
is

This

is

the Orien-

tal type,

the Occidental type.

its

Each
each has
will

of these types has

its

grandeur,

glory.

The

present adjustment

be the harmonizing, the mingling of

these two ideals.

To

the Oriental, the

to the Occidental
spiritual, the

world of
is

spirit is as real as

the world of senses.

In the

Oriental finds everything he wants or hopes

for; in
it

he

finds all that

makes

life

real to

11

MY MASTER
him.

To the

Occidental he

is

a dreamer; to
is

the Oriental, the Occidental

a dreamer,

playing with dolls of five minutes, and he

laughs to think that grown-up

men and

women

should

make

so

much

of a handful

of matter which they will have to leave

sooner or
dreamer.

later.

Each

calls the

other a

But the Oriental

ideal is as nec-

essary for the progress of the

as
is

human
it is

race

the Occidental, and

think

more

necessary.

Machines never made mankind

happy, and never will make.

trying to

He who

is

make
is

us believe

this, will

claim

that happiness

in the machine, but

It is

it is al-

ways

in the

mind.

the

man who
after

is

lord of his

mind who alone can become

else.

happy, and none

is this

But what,

all,

power

of machinery?

Why

should

man who can

send a current of electricity

through a wire be called a very great man,

and a very

intelligent

man?

Does not na-

12

MY MASTER
ture do a million times

more than
fall

that every

moment?

Why

not then

down and
it
if

worship nature?

What

matters

you
if

have power over the whole of the world,

you have mastered every atom

verse?
less

in the uni-

That

will

not

make you happy unof happiness in

yourself.
true,

you have the power

yourself, until

you have conquered

Man

is

born to conquer nature,

it is

but the Occidental means by " nature " only

the physical or external nature.
that external nature
is

It

is

true
its

majestic, with
rivers,

mountains, and oceans, and

its infinite
is

and with

powers and

varieties.

Yet there
man,

more majestic

internal nature of

higher than the sun,

moon and

stars,

higher

than this earth of ours, higher than the

physical universe, transcending these
lives of
little

ours and
;

it

afifords 'another field of

study.

There the Orientals

excel, just as

the Occidentals excel in the other.

13

There-

MY MASTER
fore
it

is

fitting that,

whenever there
it

is

spiritual adjustment,

should come from

that

the Orient.

It is also fitting

when

the

Oriental wants to learn about ma.chine-mak-

ing he should

sit

at the feet of the Occi-

dental and learn from him.

When

the Oc-

cident wants to learn about the spirit, about

God, about the

soul,

about the meaning and

sit

the mystery of this universe, she must

at

the feet of the Orient to learn.

I
life

am going
of

to present before you the has been the mover of

one

man who

such a wave in India.

into the
life

But before going

I will try

of this

man

to present

before you the secret of India, what India

means.

If

those whose eyes have been

blinded by the glamor of material things,

whose whole dedication

of

life is

to eating

and drinking and enjoying, whose whole

ideal of possession
is

lands and gold,

whose

whole

ideal of pleasure is in the sensations,

14

MY MASTER
*

whose god
Hfe of ease

is

money, and whose goal

in this world,

is

and comfort

and

death after that, whose minds never look

forward, and

who

rarely think of anything

higher than the sense objects in the midst

of

which they

live, if

such as these go to InPoverty, squalor,

dia,

what do they

see?

superstition,

darkness, hideousness every-

where.

Why?

Because in their minds endress, education, social

ligihtenment
politeness.

means

Whereas Occidental nations

effort to

have used every

terial position,

improve their ma-

India has done differently.

There

lives

the only race in the world

which, in the whole history of humanity,

never went beyond their frontiers to con-

quer anyone,

who

never coveted that which

else,

belonged to anyone
fault

and whose only

fertile,

was that

their lands

were so

and

their wits so keen, that they

accumulated

wealth by the hard labor of their hands, and

15

MY MASTER
so tempted other nations to
spoil them.

come and

de-

They are contented

to be de-

spoiled,

and to be

called barbarians,
this

and

in

return they

want to send to

world
for the

visions of the

Supreme, to lay bare

world the secrets of

human

nature, to rend

the veil that conceals the real man, because

they

know

the dream, because they

know

that behind this materialism lives the real

divine nature of
nish,

man which no
spoil,

sin

can tar-

no crime can
fire

no

lust

can

kill,

which the

cannot burn, nor the water

kill;
is

wet, which heat cannot dry, nor death

and to them
real as
is

this true

nature of

man

as

any material object to the senses

Just as
of a

of

an Occidental.
at the

you are brave to

jump

mouth
you

cannon with a hur-

rah; just as

are brave in the

name

of

patriotism' to stand
lives for

up and give up your

your country, so are they brave in

of

the

name

God.

There
16

it is

that

when a

MY MASTER
man
that
declares that this
it is all is

a world of ideas,

a dream, he casts off clothes

and property to demonstrate that what he

believes

and thinks

is

true.

There

it is

that

man

sits

on the banks
that
life is

of a river,

when he

has

known

eternal,

and wants to

give up his body just as nothing, just as you

can give up a
their

bit of straw.

Therein

lies

heroism, ready to face death as a

brother, because they are convinced that

there

is

no death

for them.

Therein Hes the

invincible

strength that has

made them

through hundreds of years

of oppression

and foreign invasions, and foreign tyranny.

The nation

lives to-day,

and

in that nation
disaster,

even in the days of the

spiritual giants

direst

have never

failed to arise.

Asia produces giants

in spirituality just as

the Occident produces giants in poHtics,

giants in science.

In the beginning of the

present century,

when Western
17

influence

MY MASTER
began to pour into India, when Western
conquerors, with sword in hand,

came to

demonstrate to the children of the sages

that they were mere barbarians, a race of

dreamers, that their religion was but mythology, and

God and

soul and everything

for,

they had been struggling

were mere

words without meaning, that the thousands

of years of struggle, the

thousands of years

of endless
vain,

renunciation,

had

all

been

in

the question began to be agitated

at

among young men

the

universities

whether the whole national existence up to

this date

had been a

failure,

if

they must be-

gin

anew on

the Occidental plan, tear

up

their old books,

burn

their philosophies,

drive

away

their preachers,

and break down

their temples.

Did not the Occidental conqueror, the

man who demonstrated

sword and gun, say that
18

his religion with

all

the old ways

MY MASTER
were mere superstition and idolatry?
dren brought up and educated
in the

Chil-

new

schools started on the Occidental plan,

drank

in these ideas

from

their childhood

and

it is

not to be wondered at that doubts

arose.

But instead

of throwing

away

su-

perstition

and making a

real search after

truth, the test of truth

became " What does

priests

the

West

say? "

The

must go, the

Vedas must be burned, because the West

has said so.

Out

of the feeling of unrest

thus produced, there arose a wave of socalled

If

reform in India.
to be a true reformer, three

you wish

things are necessary.

The

first is

to feel do
;

you

really feel for

your brothers?
is

Do you
in

really feel that there

so

much misery

the world, so
tion?

much ignorance and

really feel that
this idea
it

supersti-

Do you

men

are your

brothers?

Does

come
in

into your

whole being?

Does

run

your blood?

19

MY MASTER
Does
it

tingle in

your veins?

Does

it

course through every nerve and filament of

your body?

Are you
If

full

of that idea of

sympathy?
step.

you

are, that is

only the
if

first

You must

think next

you have

found any remedy.

all

The

old ideas

may be

superstition, but in

and around these

masses of superstition are nuggets of gold

and

truth.

Have you

discovered means by

which to keep that gold alone, without any

of the dross?
If

you have done

that, that

is

only the second step, one

essary.

more thing is

nec-

What

is

your motive?

Are you

sure that you are not actuated by greed for

gold, by thirst for fame, or power?
really sure that

Are you
ideals,

you can stand to your

if

and work on, even

to crush

the whole world wants

you down?

Are you sure you

know what you

want, and will perform your

if

duty, and that alone, even

your

life is

at

stake?

Are you sure that you'will perse20

MY MASTER
vere so long as
life

endures, so long as one

pulsation in the heart will last?

Then you

are a real reformer, you are a teacher, a

master, a blessing to mankind!

But man

is

so impatient, so short-sighted!

He

has not

the patience to wait, he has not the power

to see.

He

wants to

rule,

he wants

results

immediately.

Why?
Duty
"

He

wants to reap

the fruits himself, and does not really care

for others. for duty's sake
is

not
the

what he wants.
rig'ht,

To work you have

but not to the

fruits thereof," says

Krishna.

Why

cling to results?
fruits

Ours are

the duties.

Let the

take care of

themselves.

But man has no patience, he

takes up any scheme and the larger

of would-be reformers
all

number

over the world,

can be classed under

this

heading.

As

have

said, the idea of

it

reform came
the wave of

to India

when

seemed

as

if

materialism that had invaded her shores

21

MY MASTER
would sweep away the teachings
Sages.
of

the

But the nation had borne the

shocks of a thousand such waves of change.

This one was mild in comparison.

after

Wave
of

wave had flooded the

land, breaking

and crushing everything for hundreds

years; the sword had flashed, and

" Victory

unto Allah " had rent the skies of India, but

these floods subsided, leaving the national
ideals

unchanged.
nation

The Indian
Deathless
as that
it

cannot
it

be

killed.

stands and
shall

will

stand so long

spirit

remain as the back-

ground, so long as her people do not give

up

their spirituality.

Beggars they may

dirt

remain,

poor and poverty-stricken;

and squalor may surround them perhaps

throughout
all

time, but let

them not give

that they

up

their

God,

let

them not forget

are the children of the Sages.

Just as in the

West even

the

man

in the street

wants to

22

MY MASTER
trace his descent from
of the

some robber-baron
in India

Middle Ages, so

even an

Emperor on

the throne wants to trace his

descent from some beggar-sage in the forest,

from a man who wore the bark of a

fruits of the forest

tree,

hved upon the

and com-

muned with God.

scent

That

is

the type of deis

we

want, and while holiness

thus

supremely venerated, India cannot

It

die.

was while reforms

of various kinds

were being inaugurated

child

in India,

that a

was born

of

poor Brahmin parents on

the 20th of February, 1835, in one of the re-

mote

villages of Bengal.

The

father

and

mother were very orthodox people.

life

The
one of

of a really

orthodox Brahmin

is

continuous renunciation.

Very few things

can he do, and over and beyond them the

orthodox Brahman must not occupy himself

with any secular business.

gifts

At the same
from every-

time he must not receive

23

MY MASTER
body.

You may

imagine

how

rigorous

that Hfe becomes.

You have

heard of the

Brahmins and

their priest-craft

many

times,

but very few of you have ever stopped to

ask what makes this wonderful band of
the rulers of their fellows.

men

They

are the

poorest of

all

the classes in the country, and

the secret of their

ciation.
is

power

lies in their

renunTheirs

They never covet

wealth.

the poorest priesthood in the world, and

therefore the most powerful.

Even

in this

poverty, a Brahmin's wife will never allow

a poor

man

to pass through the village

eat.

without giving him something to

is

That

considered the highest duty of the mother

in India;
is

and because she

is

the mother

it

her duty to be served

is

last;

she must see

that everyone

served before her turn

the mother
is

comes.
as

That

is

why

regarded

God

in India.

This particular woman,

the mother of our present subject, was the

24,

MY MASTER
very type of a Hindu mother.

The higher

the caste the greater the restrictions.

The

lowest caste people can eat and drink any-

thing they
scale

like,

but as

men

rise in

the social

more and more

restrictions

come, and

when they reach

the highest caste the Brah-

min, the hereditary priesthood of India,

their lives, as I have said, are very

much
man-

circumscribed.

Compared

to western

ners their lives are of continuous asceticism.

But they have great

steadiness;
it

when

they get liold of an idea they carry

its

out to
it

very conclusion, and they keep hold of

generation after generation until they

make

something out of
idea and
it is

it.

Once

give
it

them an

not easy to take

back again,

but
idea.

it

is

hard to make them grasp a new

The orthodox Hindus

therefore, are very

exclusive, living entirely within their

own
lives

horizon of thought and feeling.

25

Their

MY MASTER
are laid
tle

down

in

our old books

in

every

lit-

detail,

and the

least detail is

grasped

with almost adamantine firmness by them.

They would

starve rather than eat a meal

cooked by the hands of a man not belonging to their

own

small section of caste.

But

withal, they have intensity

and tremendous
of intense faith

earnestness.

That force
life

and religious

occurs often

among

the

orthodox Hindus, because

their very ortho-

doxy comes from the tremendous conviction that

it is

right.

We

may

not

all

think

that that to

which they hold on with such

is

perseverance

right,

but to them

it

is.

Now

it is

written in our books that a

man

should always be charitable even to the extreme.

If

man

starves himself to death to

life, it

help another man, to save that man's

is all

right;
that.

it is

even held that a

it is

man ought

to

do

And

expected of a Brah-

min

to carry this idea out to the very ex-

26

MY MASTER
treme.

Those who are acquainted with the

literature of India will

ful

remember

a beauti-

old story about this extreme charity,

how

a whole

family,

as

related

in

the

Mahabharata, starved themselves to death

and gave
is

their last

meal to a beggar.

This
still

not an exaggeration, for such things

exist.

The
of

characters of the father and

mother
that.

my

Master were very much

like

Very poor they were and yet many

a time the mother would starve herself a

whole day to help a poor man.

this child

Of them

was born and he was a peculiar

child

from very babyhood.

birth,

He rememand was coninto the

bered his past from his

scious for

what purpose he came

world, and every power was devoted to the

fulfilment of that purpose.

While he was

quite

young his

father died

and the boy was

sent to school.

Brahmin's boy must go

restricts

to

school; the

caste

him to a

27

MY MASTER
learned profession only.

The

old system of

education in India,

still

prevalent in

many

parts of the country, especially in connection with

Sannyasins, was very different

from the modern system.

The

students

had not to pay.

edge
it.

It

was thought that knowl-

is

so sacred that no

man ought

to sell

Knowledge must be given

freely

and
to

without any price.

The teachers used

take students without charge, and not only

so,

but most of them gave their students

food and clothes.

To

support these teach-

ers the wealthy families

sions,

on certain occafestival,

such as a marriage

or at the

ceremonies for the dead, made

gifts to

them.
forein

They were considered

most claimants to
their turn

the

first

and

certain gifts,

and they

had to maintain their students.

This boy about

whom

am

speaking had

an elder brother, a learned professor, and

went to study with him. After a short time

28

MY MASTER
the boy became convinced that the aim of
all

secular learning

was mere material ad-

vancement, and he resolved to give up

study and devote himself to the pursuit of
spiritual

knowledge.

The

father

being

dead, the family was very poor, and this boy

had

to

make

his

own

living.

He

went to a

place near Calcutta and became a temple

priest.

To become

temple

priest

is

thought very degrading to a Brahmin.

Our

temples are not churches in your sense

of the word, they are not places for public

worship,

for,

properly speaking, there

in

is

no

such thing as public worship

India.

Temples are erected mostly by

as a meritorious religious act.
If

rich persons

man

has

much

property he wants to

build a temple.

In that he puts a symbol

or an image of an Incarnation of God, and

dedicates
it

to worship in the
is

name

of
is

God.
con-

The worship

akin to that which

29

MY MASTER
ducted in

Roman

Catholic churches, very

much

like the

Mass, reading certain sen-

tences from the Sacred Books,

light before the image,

waving a

and treating the

image
man.

in every respect as

we

treat a great

This

is all

that

is

done in the temple.

is

The man who goes

to a temple

not con-

sidered thereby a better

man than he who

is

never goes.

More
more
is

properly the latter

religious

considered the
ligion in India

man,
his
is

for repri-

to each
his

man

own

vate

afifair

and

all

worship

conducted
It

in the privacy of his

own home.

has been

held from the most ancient times in our

country that
tion to

it

is

a degenerating occupapriest.

become a temple
it,

There

is

another idea behind

ucation, but in a far

that, just as with ed-

more

intense sense with

religion, the fact that

fees for their

temple priests take

work

is

making merchandise

of sacred things.

So you may imagine the

30

MY MASTER
feelings of that

boy when he was forced

through poverty to take up the only occupation open to him, that of a temple priest.

There have been various poets

in

Bengal

whose songs have passed down

ple; t'hey are

to the peo-

sung

in the streets of Calcutta

and

in

every village.

Most
their

of these are reidea,

ligious songs,

and

one central

which
India,

is
is

perhaps peculiar to the religions of

the idea of realization.

There

is

not a book in India on religion which does

not breathe this idea.

Man must

realize

God,
is

feel

God, see God, talk to God.

That
is full

religion.

The Indian atmosphere

of stories of saintly persons having visions

of

God.

Such doctrines form "the

and
all

basis of

their religion;

these ancient books

of persons

and scriptures are the writings

who came
facts.

into direct contact with spiritual

for the

These books were not written

intellect,

nor can any reasoning understand

31

MY MASTER
them, because they have been written by

men who have

write,

seen the things of which they

and they can be understood only by

raised themselves to the

men who have

same
height.

They say there

is
life,

such a

thing as realization even in this

is

and

it

open to everyone, and religion begins

if

with the opening of this faculty,

call it so.

may

This

is

the central idea in

all re-

ligions

and

this is

why we may

find

one man

with the most finished oratorical powers, or

tlie

most convincing

logic,

preaching the

highest doctrines and yet unable to get people to listen to him;

and another, a poor

man, who scarcely can speak the language

of his

own

motherland, yet with half the

nation worshipping
as God.

him

in his

own

lifetime

The

idea

somehow

or other has

got abroad that he has raised himself to

that state of realization, that religion
is

no

more

a matter of conjecture to him, that he

32

MY MASTER
is

no more groping

in the dark in such

religion, the

mo-

mentous questions as
tality of the soul,

immor-

and God; and people

come from

all

quarters to see

him and

gradually they begin to worship him; as an

Incarnation of God.

In the temple was an image of the "

ful

Bliss-

Mother."

This boy had to conduct the

worship morning and evening and by and

by

this

one idea

filled his

mind,

" Is there

anything behind
there
Is
it

this

image?

Is

it

true that

is

Mother

of Bliss in the universe?

true that she lives and guides this uniis it all

verse, or

a dream?

Is there

any

re-

ality in religion? "

This scepticism comes

child.
It
is
is

to almost every

Hindu

the
this

standing scepticism of our country

that

we

are doing real?

And

theories will

not satisfy us, although there are ready at

hand almost

all

the theories that have ever

soul.

been made with regard to God and

33

MY MASTER
Neither books nor theories can satisfy
us,

the one idea that gets hold of thousands of

our people

is

this idea of realization.

is

Is

it

true that there

I see

God?

If it

be

true,

can

Him? Can

I realize

the truth?
all this

The

Western mind may think

practicable, but to us
cal. lives.
it is

very im-

intensely practi-

For

this idea

men

will give

up

their

For

this idea

thousands of Hindus

every year give up their homes and

of

many

them

die

through the hardships they

have to undergo.
this

To

the Western mind

must seem most

visionary,

and

can

see the reason for this point of view.

after years of residence in the

But
I still

West,

think this idea the most practical thing in

life.

Life

is

but momentary whether you are a

or an

toiler in the streets,

Emperor

ruling

millions.

Life

is

but momentary, whether

of health or the worst.
34.

you have the best

MY MASTER
There
is

but one solution of

is

life,

says the
call

Hindu, and that solution

what they
life

God and ReHgion.

comes explained, comes enjoyable.
useless burden.

If

these be true,

be-

life

becomes bearable, belife is

Otherwise,

but a

That

is

our idea, but no

it; it

amount

of reasoning can demonstrate

it

can only make

rests.

probable, and there

it

Facts are only in the senses and

it

we
to

have to sense Religion to demonstrate

ourselves.

We

have to sense God to be

is

convinced that there

a God.

Nothing
these

but our

own

perceptions can

make

things real to us.

This idea took possession of the boy and

his

whole

life

became concentrated upon

day he would weep and
is
it

that.

Day

after

say:
istest,

"Mother,
or
is it

true that

Thou

ex-

all

poetry?

Is the Blissful

Mother an imagination
guided people, or
is

of poets

and mis"

there such a reaUty?

35

MY MASTER
We
in

have seen that of books, of education

our sense of the word, he had none and

so

much

tlie

more

natural, so
his

much
much

the
the

more healthy was

mind, so

purer his thoughts, undiluted by drinking

in the

thoughts of others.
his

This thought

which was uppermost in

mind gained

in

strength every day until he could think of

nothing

else.

He

could no

more conduct

the worship properly, could

to the various details in
ness.

no more attend
their minute-

all

Often he would forget to place the

food offering before the image, sometimes

he would forget to wave the

times he would

light,

other

wave

the lights a whole day,

else.

and forget everything

At

last

it

be-

came impossible
temple.
tle

for

him

to serve in the
lit-

He

left it

and entered into a

lived

wood

that

was near and

there.

About

this part of his life

he has told
tell

me

many

times that he could not

36

when the

MY MASTER
sun rose or
all

set,

nor how he Hved.

He

lost
eat.

thoug-ht of himself

and forgot to

During this period he was lovingly watched

over by a relative

who

put into his

mouth

food Which he mechanically swallowed.

Days and nights thus passed with

boy.

the

When

a whole day would pass, tobells in

wards evening, when the peals of

the temples would reach the forest, the

chimes,
singing,
sad,

and the voices of the persons

it

would make the boy very

cry: "

and he would
in

One day

is

gone

vain,

Mother, and Thou dost

of this short
life

not come.

One day
I

has

gone and

have not known the Truth."

In the agony of his soul, sometimes he

would rub
weep.
This
the
is

his face against the

ground and

the tremendous thirst that seizes

heart.

human
me:

Later on, this very

child,

man
is

said to

"

My

suppose there

37

MY MASTER
bag
the
of gold in

one room, and a robber

to
it,

in

room next

do you think that robcan not.

ber can sleep?

He

His mind

will

be always thinking

how

to get into that

room and

get possession of that gold.

Do

you think then that a man firmly persuaded

that there
is

a reality behind

all

these sensais

tions, that there is a

God, that there

that
is

One

who

never
of

dies,
all

One

the infinite

amount

bliss,

a bliss

compared to

which these pleasures of the senses are simply playthings, can rest contented without

struggling to attain
efiforts for

it?

Can he cease
No.

his

a moment?

He

will be-

come mad with longing." This

.

divine

madhad

ness seized this boy.

At
tell

that time he

no teacher; nobody to

him anything ex-

cept that everyone thought that he was out

of his mind. of things.
ties of
If

This
a

is

the ordinary condition

aside the vanicalled

man throws
38

the world

we hear him

mad,

MY MASTER
but such
of such

men

are the salt of the earth.

Out
that

madness have come the powers

have moved this world of ours, and out of

such madness alone
will

come the powers

of the future, that are

going to be in the

world.

So

days, weeks,

months passed

in

continuous struggle of the soul to arrive at

Truth.

The boy began

to see visions, to see

his nature

wonderful things, the secrets of

were beginning to open to him.

veil

Veil after

was,

as

it

were,

being

taken

ofif.

Mother Herself became the

initiated the

teacher,

and

boy into the truths he sought.

At

this

time there came to this place a

wom-

an, beautiful to look at, learned

beyond com-

pare.

Later on

this Saint

used to say about

her that she was not learned, but was the em-

bodiment
self,

of learning; she

was learning

it-

in

human

form. There too, you find the

peculiarity of the Indian nation.

In the

midst of the ignorance in which

39

the" average

MY MASTER
Hindu woman
lives, in

the midst of

what

is

called in western countries her lack of free-

dom, there could

arise a

woman

of this su-

preme
for

spirituality.

She was a Sannyasini,

women

also give

up the

world, throw

away

their property,

do not marry, and de-

vote themselves to the worship of the Lord.

She came, and when she heard

in the forest

of this

boy

she ofifered to go to see him,

first

and hers was the

help he received.

At

once she recognized what his trouble was,

and she
the

said to him:

"

My
is

son, blessed

is

man upon whom such madness comes.

of this universe
for pleasure,

The whole
wealth,

mad; some

for

some

some
things.

for fame,

some
is

for a

hundred other
is

Blessed

the

man who

mad
This

after

God.

Such

men

are very few."

woman remained
him
as
it

near the boy for years, taught him the forms

of the religions of India, initiated
different practices of

in the

Yoga, and,
40

were,

MY MASTER
guided and brought into harmony
this tre-

mendous

river of spirituality.
forest, a

Later there came to the same

Sannyasin, one of the beggar-friars of India,

a learned man, a philosopher.

idealist.

a peculiar man, he was an

He was He did
real-

not believe that this world existed in

ity,

and to demonstrate that he would never

roof,

go under a

he would always

live

out of
This

doors, in storm and sunshine alike.

man began

to teach the boy the philosophy

of the Vedas,

and he found very soon, to

his

astonishment, that the pupil was in some

respects wiser than the master.
several

He

spent
after

months there with the boy,

initiated

which he

him

into the order of

Sannyasins and took his departure.

The

relatives of this

boy thought that

if

his

madness could be cured

they could get

in India

him married.

Sometimes
by

young
and

children are married

their parents

41.

MY MASTER
relatives

without giving their

own

consent

in the matter.

This boy had been married

at the age of about eighteen to a little girl

of five.

Of course such a marriage

is

but a

betrothal.

The

real

marriage takes place

older,

when

the wife
for the

grows

when

it is

cushis

tomary

husband to go and bring

In
this case,

bride to his
ever, the

own home.

how-

husband had
In her

entirely forgotten he

had a wife.

far-off

home the

girl

had

heard that her husband had become a religious enthusiast

and that he was even con-

sidered insane

by many.

She resolved to

learn the truth for herself, so she set out

and walked
was.

to the place
at last she

where her husband

stood in her hus-

When

band's presence, he at once admitted her

right to his
son,
life;

although in India any perre-

man

or

woman, who embraces a

thereby freed from
all

ligious

life is

other

obligations.

The young man

42

fell

at the feet

MY MASTER
of his wife

and said

" I

have learned to

look upon every

woman

as Mother, but I

am

at

your

service."

The maiden was

and was able
aspirations

a pure and noble soul,

to understand her husband's

and

sympathize

with

them.

She quickly told him that she had no wish

to drag

him down
all

to a

life

of worldliness;

but that

she desired was to remain near

him, to serve him, and to learn of him.

She became one of

ciples,

his

most devoted

dis-

always revering him as a divine be-

ing.

Thus through

his wife's consent the

last barrier

was removed and he was

life

free

to lead the

he had chosen.

The next
of this

desire that seized

upon the soul

man was

to

know

the truth about

to that time he

the various religions.

Up

had not known any

religion but his own.

re-

He

wanted to understand what other

were
like.

ligions

So he sought teachers
43

of

MY MASTER
other religions.

By

teacliers

you must

al-

ways remember what we mean

not a book-worm, but a

in India

man

of realization,

one who knows truth

centuries after.

at first-hand

and not

He

found a

Mohammedan
by him, and

Saint and went to live with him; he under-

went the

disciplines prescribed

to his astonishment found that

when

faith-

fully carried out, these devotional

methods
at-

led

him to the same goal he had already

tained.

He

gathered similar experience

from following the true religion of Jesus

the Christ.

He

went to the various

sects

existing in our country that

to him,

were available

and whatever he took up he went

with his whole heart.

into

it

He

did ex-

actly as he

was

told,

and

in every instance

he arrived

at the

same

result.

Thus from
that the

actual experience he

came
is

to

know

goal of every religion

is

the same, that each

trying to teach the same thing, the differ-

44

MY MASTER
ence being largely in method, and
in language.
still

more
all

At the

core,

all

sects

and

religions have the

same aim.
the conviction that to

Then came

to

him

be perfect, the sex idea must go, because

soul has no sex, soul
is

neither male nor fe-

male.

It is

only in the body that sex exists,

spirit

and the man who desires to reach the

cannot at the same time hold to sex

tinctions.
line

dis-

Having been born

in a

mascu-

body, this

man now wanted

that he

to bring

the feminine idea into everything.

He

be-

gan to think
dressed like a

was a woman, he
like

woman, spoke

woman,

gave up the occupations of men, and lived

among
after

the

women
of

of his

own

family, until,
his

years

this

discipline,

mind

became changed, and he

idea of sex;
all

entirely forgot the

thought of that vanished

of
life

and the whole view

to him.

became changed

45

MY MASTER
We
hear in the

West about worshipping

her youth

woman, but
and beauty.

this is usually for

This

man meant by

worship-

ping woman, that to him every woman's

face

was that

of the Blissful Mother,

I

and

nothing but

that.

myself have seen this

man

standing before those

women whom
falling at their

society
feet

would not touch, and

tears, saying:

bathed in

" Mother, in

one form Thou art

other form

in the street,

and
I

in an-

Thou
I

art the universe.

salute of
all

Thee, Mother,

salute Thee."
life

Think

the blessedness of that

carnality has vanished,

from which

when every woman's

and only the

face has

become

transfigured,

face of the Divine

Mother, the BHssful One,

the Protectress of the

human

race shines

upon the man who can look upon every

woman
is

with that love and reverence

That

what we want.

the divinity

Do you mean to say that behind every woman can ever

46

MY MASTER
be cheated?
It

never was and never

it

will be.

Unconsciously
it

asserts

itself.

Unfailingly

detects fraud,
it

it

detects hypocrisy, unerrof truth, the light

ingly

feels

the

warmth

of spirituality, the holiness of purity.

Such

purity
uality

is is

absolutely necessary

if

real spirit-

to be attained.

This rigorous, unsullied purity came into

the
life

of that
in

man;
lives

all

the struggles which

for him.

we have

our

were past

His

hard-earned jewels of spirituality, for which

he had given three-quarters of

his

life,

were

now

ready to be given to humanity, and

then began his mission.

His teaching and

preaching were peculiar, he would never

take the position of a teacher.
try a teacher
is

In our coun-

a most highly venerated

person, he

is

regarded as

God

Himself.

We
fa-

have not even the same respect for our

ther and mother.

Father and mother give

us our body, but the teacher shows us the

47

MY MASTER
way
to salvation.

We

are his children,

we

are born in the spiritual line of the teacher.

All

Hindus come to pay respect

to an extra-

ordinary teacher, they crowd around him.

And

here was

such a teacher, but the

teacher had no thought whether he was to

be respected or not, he had not the least

idea that
that
it

he was a great

teacher, he thought

was Mother who was doing every-

thing and not he.

He always said:

" If

any

good comes from

my

lips, it is

the

Mother
it?

who

speaks; what have

his

to

do with
his

"

That was

one idea about

work, and
it

to the day of his death he never gave

up.

This
was,

man sought no
first

one.

His principle
earn
spirit-

form character,
results will

first

uality,

and

come

of themselves.

His favorite illustration was, "

lotus opens, the bees

When
own

the
ac-

come

of their
let

cord to seek the honey, so

the lotus of

your character be full-blown and the results

48

MY MASTER
will follow."

This

is

a great lesson to learn.

this lesson
it.

My

Master taught

me

hundreds
under-

of times, yet I often forget

Few
If

stand the power of thought.

into a cave, shuts 'himself in,
really great

man

goes

and thinks one

thought

thought and

dies, that

will penetrate the

adamantine walls of that

cave,

vibrate through space, and at last

penetrate the whole

the

human

race.

Such

is

power

of thought; be in

no hurry

there-

fore to give

your thoughts to others.

First

have something to give.

He

alone teaches
is

who

has something to give, for teaching

is

not talking, teaching

trines,
it

not imparting docSpirituahty

I

is

communicating.

can be communicated just as really as

give

can

you a

flower.

This

is

true in the most

literal sense.

This idea

is

very old in India

and
lief,

finds illustration in the

West

in the be-

in the theory, of apostolic succession.

first

Therefore,

make

character

^that is

the

49

MY MASTER
highest

duty you can perform.

Know
be many

Truth
to

for yourself,

and there
it

will

whom

you can teach

afterwards; they

will all

come.

This was the attitude of

my

Master

he
I

criticised
I

no one.
man, but
one word

For years
never did
of

lived with that

lips utter

hear those

condemnation for any

sect.

He

had the

same sympathy

for all of

them; he had

found the 'harmony between them.

A man
or mys-

may be
tic,

intellectual, or devotional,

or active, and the various religions rep-

resent one or the other of these types.

it is

Yet

possible to combine
is

all

the four in one

is

man, and this

ing to do.

what future humanity

his idea.

go-

That was
one, but

He

con-

demned no

saw the good

in all. this

People came by thousands to see

wonderful man, to hear him speak in a

patois, every

word

of

which was forceful

and

instinct with light.

For

it is

not what

50

MY MASTER
is
it

spoken,
is

much
it

less the
is

language

in

which

spoken,

the personality of the

speaker which dwells in everything he says

that carries weight.
this at times.
tions,

Every one of us

feels

We

hear most splendid oradis-

most wonderfully reasoned out

and we go home and forget
a few

courses,

it all.

At other times we hear

words

in the

simplest of language, and t'hey

accompany

us

all

our

lives,

become

part and parcel of

ourselves and produce lasting results.

The

words of a man who can put

into

his personality
tre-

them take 'effect, but he must have

personality.

mendous

All teaching

is

giv-

ing and taking, the teacher gives and the taught receives, but the one must have

something to give, and fhe other must be

open to
This

receive.

man came

to live near Calcutta, the

capital of India, the

sity

most important univerw'hich

town in our country,

51

was send-

MY MASTER
ing out sceptics and materialists by the hundreds every year, yet the great
the different universities used to
listen to

men from
come and
I

him.

heard of

this

man, and
like

went to hear him.

ordinary man,

He

looked just

an

with nothing remarkable used the most simple lan-

about him.
guage, and
I

He

thought, " Can this

I crept

man

be a

great teacher? "

near to him and

I

asked him the question which

asking others
all

had been

my life:

" Do

you believe in

God, sir?"

"Yes," he
"Yes."

replied.

"Can you

proveit,sdr?"
I see

"How?" "Because
you
here, only in a

Him

just as I see

much

intenser sense."

That impressed me
time
I

at once.

For the

first

had found a

man who dared

religion
in an infinitely

to say that he to be

saw God, that

to be sensed

was a reality,

felt,

more

intense
I

way than we
to

can sense the world.

began
I

come near
saw

that man, day after day, and

52

actually

MY MASTER
that religion could be given.

One
life

touch,

one glance, can make a whole

I

change.

had read about Buddha and Christ and

all

Mohammed, about
stand up and say, "

those different lu-

minaries of ancient times,

how

they would
the

Be thou whole," and

I

man became
true,

whole.
I

now found

it

to be
all

and when

myself saw this man,

aside.
It

scepticism

was brushed

could be
"

done, and

my

Master used to say:

Re-

ligion can be given

bly,

and taken more tangielse in the

first;

more

really

than anything

world."

Be

therefore spiritual

have

something to give, and then stand before

the world and give
it.

Religion

is

not

talk,

nor doctrines nor theories, nor

rianism.
societies.

is it

secta-

Religion cannot live in sects and

It is

the relation between the

it

soul and
ciety?

God; how can

It

be made into a sointo a

would then degenerate

is

business,

and wherever there

53

business, or

MY MASTER
business principles in religion, spirituality
dies.

Religion does not consist in erecting

temples, or building churches, or attending public worship.

It is

not to be found in

books, nor in words, nor in lectures, nor in

organizations.
ation.

Religion consists in realiz-

As

a fact,

we

all

know

that nothing

will satisfy us until

we know the

truth for

ourselves.

However we may argue, howhear, but

is

ever

much we may
and that

one thing

will

satisfy us,

our own realization,

is

and such an experience one of

us,
if

possible for every

we will
As

only

try.

The

first
is

ideal

of this attempt to realize religion

that of

renunciation.

far as

we

can,

we must

give up.

Light and darkness, enjoyment of

the world and enjoyment of

God

will

never

go together.

"

Ye

cannot serve

God and

Mammon."
The second
idea that I learned from
is
54,

my

Master, and which

perhaps the most

MY MASTER
vital,
is

the wonderful truth that the re-

ligions of the world are not contradictory

nor antagonistic;
phases of
finite

they

are

but

various

One

Eternal ReHgion.
all

One

In-

Rehgion existed
and

through eternity
is

and

will ever exist,

itself in

this Religion

ex-

pressing

various countries, in vaall

rious ways.
religions
all

Therefore we must respect

try to accept

and we must

them

as far as

we

can.

Religions manifest

themselves not only according to race and

geographical position, but according to
dividual powers.
inis

In one
as
it is

man

religion
activity,
itself

manifesting

itself

intense

as as

work.

In another

manifesting

intense devotion, in yet another as mysticism, in others as philosophy, and so forth.

It is

wrong when we say

right."

to others:

"

Your

methods are not

tral secret that

To

learn this cen-

the Truth

may be one and

we may

yet

many

at the

same
55

time, that

MY MASTER
have different visions of the same Truth

from

different standpoints,

is

exactly what

must be done.

Then, instead of antagonshall

ism to anyone, we

have

infinite

sym-

pathy with

all.

Knowing

that as long as

there are different natures

bom

into this

world they
tions of the

will require

different applica-

same

religious truths,

we

shall

understand that we are bound to have forbearance with each other.

is

Just as nature

unity in variety, an infinite variation in

all

the phenomenal, and behind

ations, the Infinite, the

these vari-

Unchangeable, the

Absolute, so

it is

with every man; the mi-

crocosm

is

but a miniature repetition of the

in spite of all these variations,

macrocosm;
in

and

ithrougli

them

all

runs this eternal

this.

harmony, and we have to recognize

This idea, above
all

other ideas,

find to be

the crying necessity of the day.

Coming

from a country which

56

is

a 'hotbed of re-

MY MASTER
ligious sects

through good fortune or

who
I

ill

fortune, everyone

has a religious idea

wants to send an advance guard there

from

my

childhood

have been acquainted

with the various sects of the world; even

the

Mormons came
all!

to

preach in India.
is

Welcome them
which to preach
root

That

the soil on
it

religion.
in

There

takes
If

more than

any other country.

politics to the
if

you come and teach

Hindus
to

they do not understand, but

you come
it

preach religion, however curious

may

be,

you

will

have hundreds and thousands of

followers in

no time, and you have every

in

chance of becoming a living god

life

your

time.

am

glad

it

is so, it is

the one

thing

we want

in India.

The

sects

among

the Hindus are various, almost infinite in

number, and some

of

them apparently
Yet they
all tell

hopelessly contradictory.

you they

are but different manifestations of

57

MY MASTER
Religion.
start

"

As

diflferent rivers,

taking their

from different mountains, running

all

crooked or straight,

come and mingle

their waters in the ocean, so the different

sects,

with their different points of view,

all

at

last

come
it

unto>

Thee."

This

is

not

theory,

has to be

recognized,

but not in that patronizing

see with some. "

way which we
some

Oh,

yes, there are

very good things."

(Some even have the

other re-

most wonderfully
ligions are
all

liberal idea that

little

bits
is

of a prehistoric

evolution, but " ours

things.")

the fulfilment of
is

One man
it is

says because his

;

the

oldest religion

the best another

is

makes
latest.

the same claim because his

the

We have to recognize that each one of them

has the same saving power as every other.
It is

a mass of superstition that you have

heard everywhere, either in the temple or

the church, that there
58
is

any difference.

MY MASTER
The same God answers
you, nor
I,

all,

and

it

is is

not
re-

nor any body of men, that

sponsible for the safety and salvation of the

least little bit of the soul; the

same Alof them.

mighty God
I

is

responsible for

all

do not understand how people declare

themselves to be believers in God, and at

the

same time think that God has handed

little

over to a

body

of

men

all

truth,

and

that they are the guardians of the rest of

humanity.
of

Do
if

not try to disturb the

faith

any man.

If

you can give him someof a

thing better,

you can get hold

man

where he stands and give him a push upwards, do so, but do not destroy what he
has.

The only

true teacher
it

is

he

who can
The only

convert himself as

were, into a thousand

persons at a moment's notice.

true teacher
is

he

who

can immediately

come down

to the level of the student, and

transfer his soul to the student's soul 59

and

MY MASTER
see throug'h the student's eyes

and hear

through
his

his ears

and understand through

really teach

mind.

Such a teacher can

else.

and none

All these negative, break-

ing-down, destructive teachers that are in

the world can never do any good.

In the presence of
that

my

Master

found out

man could be perfect, even in this body.

lips

Those

never cursed anyone, never even

criticised

anyone.

Those eyes were beyond

evil,

the possibility of seeing

lost the

that

mind had

power
but
that

of thinking evil.

He saw

nothing
purity,

good.

That

tremendous
is

tremendous renunciation

the one secret of spirituality.

" Neither

through wealth, nor through progeny, but

through renunciation alone,

is

immortality
" Sell
all

to be reached," say the Vedas. that thou hast

and give to the poor, and

Christ.

fol-

low me," says the

So

all

great saints and prophets have ex60

MY MASTER
pressed
Hves.
it,

and have carried

it

out in their

How

can great spirituality come

without that renunciation?

is

Renunciation

the background of
it

all

religious thought

wherever
as
this

be,

and you

will

always find that

idea of renunciation, lessens, the

more

will the senses creep into the field of

religion,

and

spirituality will decrease in the

same

ratio.

That man was the embodiment

In our country
it is

of renunciation.

neces-

sary for a

man who becomes

a Sannyasin to

give up
this

all

worldly wealth and position, and

literally.
felt

my

Master carried out

There

were many who would have

blest,
if

themselves

he would only have accepted a pres-

ent from their hands,

who would
if

gladly

have given him thousands

he would have

taken them, but these were the only

men

from

whom

he would turn away.

He was

a triumphant example, a living realization

of the complete conquest of lust 61

and desire

MY MASTER
for

money.

He was beyond

all

ideas of
for this

either,

and such men are necessary

century.

Such renunciation

is

necessary in
to think

these days

when men have begun

that they cannot live a

month without what

and which
ratio.
It

they call their " necessities,"

they are increasing in geometrical

is

necessary in a time like this that a

man

shall arise to

demonstrate to the sceptics of

the world that there yet breathes a

man who
all

does not care a straw for

the fame that are such men.
is

all

the gold or

in the universe.

Yet there

The

first

part of

my

Master's

life

was

spent in acquiring spirituality, and the re-

maining years
in

in distributing

it.

Men came

crowds to hear him and he would talk

twenty hours in the twenty-four, and that

not for

one day, but

until at last the

for

months and

months,

body broke down

this

under

the

pressure
62

of

tremendous

MY MASTER
strain.

His intense love for mankind would

not
of

let

him

refuse ta help even the humblest

the

thousands

who sought

his

aid.

Gradually there developed a

vital

throat

disorder and yet he could not be persuaded

to refrain from these exertions.
as he heard that people

As soon

were asking to see

ad-

him he would

insist

upon having them

all

mitted and would answer

tions.

their ques-

There was no
:

rest for him.

Once

man asked him

Yogi,
tle

" Sir,

you are a great

lit-

why do you

not put your mind a

on your body and cure your disease?

first

"

At

he did not answer, but

when

the

question had been repeated he gently said: "

My

friend, I

have thought you were a

talk like other

sage, but

you

men

of the

world.

This mind has been given to the

I

Lord, do you mean to say that

take
is
it

should

back and put

it

upon the body which

"

but a mere cage of the soul?

63

MY MASTER
So he went on preaching to the people,
and the news spread that
his

body was

about to pass away, and the people began

to flock to

him

in greater

crowds than

ever.

You
these

cannot imagine the way they come to

great
religious

teachers

in

India, of

crowd around them and make gods

while they are yet living.

them

Thousands are

ready to touch simply the

hem

of their gar-

ments.

It is

through

this appreciation of

spirituality in others that spirituality is pro-

duced.

Whatever any man wants and apand

it is

preciates, that he will get,

the

same

with nations.

If

you go to India and

it

deliver

a political lecture, however grand

may be,

you

will scarcely find

people to listen to
live
it,

you, but just go and teach religion,

not merely talk

it,

and hundreds

will

crowd
feet.

just to look at you, to

touch your

When
was

the people heard that this holy

man

likely to

go from them soon, they be64

MY MASTER
gan
to

come around him more than

and

ever

before,

my

Master went on teaching

least

them without the

regard for his health.

this.

We

could not prevent

Many

of the
'he

people came from long distances, and

would not
questions.

rest until

he had answered their

I

"

While

can speak

must

teach them," he would say, and he was as

good

as his word.

One day he told

the

us that

he would lay

down

body that

day,

and

repeating the most sacred word of the

Vedas he entered into Samadhi and so

passed away.

His thoughts and his

message were
capable of

known

to very few

who were

teaching them.

Among

others, he left a

few young boys

who had renounced

on

the
his

world, and were ready to carry

work.

Attempts were made

firm,

to crush them.

But they stood

of that great

having the inspiration

life

before them.
65

Having had

MY MASTER
the contact of that blessed Hfe for years,

they stood their ground.

These young men

were living as Sannyasins, begging through

the streets of the city where they were born,

although some of them came from

class families.

first-

At

first

they met with great

antagonism, but they persevered and went

on from day to day spreading

dia the

all

over Inuntil the

message of that great man,

w'hole country

was
This

filled

with the ideas he

a remote
vil-

had preached.

man from

lage of Bengal, without education, simply

by the sheer force

of his

own determination,
it

realized the truth

and gave

to others,
to

leaving only a few

alive.

young boys

keep

it

To-day the name

of Sri
all

Ramakrishna Paits

ramhamsa

is

known

over India witfi

millions of people.

Nay, the power of that

if

man

has spread beyond India, and

there
of

has ever been a

word
66

of truth, a

word

MY MASTER
spirituality that I

have spoken anywhere in

it

the world,

owe

to

my

Master; only the

mistakes are mine.

This
to the

is

the message of Sri Ramakrishna

"
for

modern world.
do not care

Do

not care for

sects,
lit-

doctrines,

dogmas, or

or churches or temples; they count for

tle

compared with the essence

of existence

in each

man which
is

is

spirituality,

and the

more

that this

developed

in a

man, the

more powerful
first,

is

he for good.

Earn that

acquire that, and criticise no one, for

all

doctrines and creeds have

some good

in

them.

Show by your

lives that religion

sects,

does not
but
that

mean words, nor names, nor

it

means

spiritual

realization.
felt.

Only those can understand who have Only those

ity

that have attained to spiritualit

can communicate

to others, can be

great teachers of mankind.

They alone

are

the powers of light."

67

MY MASTER
The more such men
country,
raised;

are produced in a

the

more

that

country will 5e

and that country where such men

is

absolutely do not exist

simply doomed,

nothing can save

ter's

it.

Therefore,
is,

my MasBe
spirit-

message to mankind
and
realize truth

"

ual

for yourself."
for the sake of

He
your

would have you give up

fellow beings.

He would

have you cease

talking about love for your brother, and set to

work

to prove your words.

The time

has

come

for renunciation, for realization,

will see the

and then you

harmony
will

in all the

religions of the world.

You

know

that

there

is

no need

of

any

quarrel,

and then

only will you be ready to help humanity.

To
tal

proclaim and

make

clear the

fundamen-

unity underlying

all

religions

was the

mission of

my Master.
this great

Other teachers have

taught special religions which bear their

names, but

Teacher of the nine-

68

MY MASTER
teenth century

made no

claim for himself

he

left

every religion undisturbed because

that, in reality, they are all

he had realized

part and parcel of one Eternal Religion.

69

PARAMttAMSA SRIMAT RAMAKRISHNA

The
nary
tap

following brief account of this extraordiis

man

taken from an article written by Proin the

It

Chunder Mazoomdar, which appeared

Quarterly Review,

TTteistic

October,

1879.

serves to

show the sentiments he inspired among

his contemporaries.

Even

the celebrated leader

of the Brahmo-Somaj, Keshub Chandra Sen, often

came by

to hear Sri

Ramakrishna and was influenced

his teachings to a considerable extent.

He

was born on the 20th of February, 1833.

this

He left

world on the i6th of August, 1886. 70

PARAMHAMSA SRIMAT RAMAKRISHNA

jyr

Y mind

is still

floating in the luminous

atmosphere

which that wonderful

man

diffuses

around 'him whenever and

wherever he goes.

My

mind

is

not yet

dis-

enchanted of the mysterious and indefinable

pathos which he pours into
it

whenever he

meets me.

What

is

there in
I,

common

be-

tween him and me?

a Europeanized, civ-

ilized, self-centered, semi-sceptical, so-called

educated reasoner, and he a poor,

ate,

illiter-

unpolished, half-idolatrous, friendless

Hindu devotee?

Why
I

should

sit

long

hours to attend to him,

to Disraeli
Miiller,

who have

listened

and Fawcett, Stanley and

of

Max

and a whole host

European
ardent

scholars
disciple

and divines? and follower of

71

who am an

Christ, a friend

and

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
admirer of liberal-minded Christian missionaries

and preachers, a devoted adherent

of the rationalistic
I

and worker

Brahmo-

Somaj
him?

why should
And
it is

be spellbound to hear
but dozens like has been inter-

not

I only,

me who do
pour

the same.

He

viewed and examined by many, crowds

in to visit

and

talk Avith him.

Some

of

our clever intellectual fools have found

nothing in him, some of the contemptuous
Christian missionaries

would

call

him an imI

postor, or a self-deluded enthusiast.

have
I

weighed their objections

write

well,

and what

now

I write deliberately.

The Hindu

saint

is

man under
he
is

forty.

He is a Brahmin
in

by

caste,

well-formed

body

naturally, but the dreadful austerihis character

ties

through which

has de-

veloped appear to have disordered his system.

Yet, in the midst of this emaciation

his face retains a fullness, a child-like ten-

72

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
derness, a profound visible humbleness, an

unspeakable sweetness of expression and a

smile that
I
I

have seen on no other face that

can remember.

Hindu

saint

is

always

particular about his externals.

He

wears

the garua cloth, eats according to strict forms, refuses to have intercourse with men,

and

is

a rigid observer of caste.

secret

He

is al-

ways proud and professes

wisdom.

He

is

always guruji, a universal counsellor This

and a dispenser of charms.

man

is

singularly devoid of such claims.

His dress
of other

and

diet

do not

dilifer

from those

men

except in the general negligence he

caste,

shows towards both, and as to

openly breaks
it

he

every day.

He most
of

veheor
at

mently repudiates the

teacher, he

title

guru,

shows impatient displeasure

any exceptional honor which people try to

pay to him, and emphatically disclaims the

knowledge

of secrets

and mysteries.

He

73

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
protests against being lionized,

and openly

shows

his strong dislike to

be visited and
society of the

praised by the curious.

The

worldly-minded
carefully shuns.

and carnally-inclined he

He

has nothing extraoris

dinary about him.

His religion

his only

recommendation.
It is

And what is his religion?

but.

orthodox Hinduism,

Hinduism

of

a strange type.
(for that is

Ramakrishna Paramhamsa

the

name

of this saint),

is

the

worshipper of no particular Hindu god.

He
is

is

not a Shivaite, he

is

not a Shakta, he
not a Vedantist.

not a Vaishnava, he
is all these.

is

Yet he

He
is

worships Shiva, he

worships Kali, he worships Rama, he worships Krishna, and

a confirmed advocate

of Vedantist doctrines.
doctrines,
all

He

accepts

all

the

the embodiments, usages, and

cult.
is

devotional practices of every religious

Each

in turn

is infallible

to him.

He

an

idolater, yet is

faithful
74,

and most devoted

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
meditator of the perfectionsof theone formless, infinite

Deity

whom

he terms, " Ak-

handa Sach-chidananda," ("Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss.") His religion, unlike the religion of

ordinary Hindu sadhus,

does not mean^ too

much dogma, or

con-

troversial proficiency, or the

outward wor-

ship with flowers and sandal-wood; incense

and

offering.

His religion means ecstasy,

his worship
his

means transcendental

insight,

whole nature burns day and night with

fire

the permanent
faith

and fever of a strange

His conversation
is

and

feeling.

ceaseless breaking forth of this inward fire

and

lasts

long hoursweary,
'he,

While

his interloc-

utors

are

though outwardly

feeble, is as fres'b as ever.

He

merges into
uncon-

rapturous

ecstasy

and

outward

sciousness often during the day, oftenest in

conversation

when he speaks

of his favorite

spiritual experiences, or hears

any striking

75

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
response to them.

But how

is it

possible
all tlie

that he has such a fervent regard for

Hindu

deities together?

What

is

the se-

cret of his singular eclecticism?

To

hini

each of these

deities is a force,

an incarnated

principle tending to reveal the

supreme

re-

lation of the soul to that eternal

less

and formin'

Being

Who

is

unchangeable

His

blessedness and the Light of

Wisdom.
saint views

Take
and

for instance Shiva.

The

realizes

Shiva as the incarnation of conForgetful of

all

templativeness and Yoga.

worldly care and concern, merged and ab-

sorbed in Samadhi, in the meditation of the

inefifable perfections of

the supreme Brahtoil

man, insensible to pain and privation,

and

loneliness, ever joyful in the blessed-

ness of Divine
rene,
his

communion, calm,
like the
is

silent, se-

immovable
is,

Himalayas where
all

abode

Mahadeo

the ideal of

con-

templative

and self-absorbed men.

76

The

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
venomous serpents
coil

of evil

and worldliness

around

his beatified

form but cannot

hurt him.

The presence

of death surrounds

him

in various forms of dread

and danger,

but cannot daunt him.

Shiva takes upon

all

himself the burdens and cares of

the

world, and swallows the deadliest poison to confer immortality

upon

others.

Shiva

re-

nounces

all

wealth and enjoyment for the

benefit of others,

makes

his faithful wife the

companion

of his austerities

and

solitude,

and takes the ashes and the

only ornaments.
Yogis.

tiger skin as his

Shiva

is

the

god

of the

And

this

good man, while

expati-

ating on the attributes of Shiva, would be

immersed

in the sublimity of his ideal,

and

become entranced, and remain unconscious

for a

long time.

Then, perhaps, he would talk of Krishna,

whom

he realizes as the incarnation of love.

" Behold," he says, " fhe countenance of 77

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
Krishna as represented popularly.

Does

it

resemble a man's face, or a woman's?

there a

Is

shadow

of sensuality in

it; is

thefe a

hair of masculine coarseness?

It is a
it

tender
is

female face that Krishna has; in

fullness of boyish delicacy

the

and

girlish grace.

By

his affectionateness,

many

sided and

multiform, he

won

the hearts of

men and

women to

the religion oiBhakti (Devotion).

That Divine love can take the form of every

sanctified

human

relation

is

the great mischild

sion of Krishna to prove.

As a loving

monopolizing
of

all

the fondness of the hearts

aged parents; as a loving companion and

attracting the profoundest
loyalty

friend

and

afifection of

men and
whose

brethren; as an

admired and adored master, the sweetness

and tenderness

of

teaching

and

whose
girls

afifectionate persuasions

converted

and

women

to the self-consecration of

a heartfelt piety, Krishna, the beauty and

78

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
depth of Whose character remain
still

be-

yond the reach of men's

appreciation, intro-

duced the religion of love into Hindustan.

Then

the

good man would say how

for long

years he dressed himself as a cowherd, or a

milkmaid, to be able to realize the experiences of that form of piety in which the

human

soul was like a faithful wife, and a

loyal friend to the loving Spirit

who
is

is

our

Lord and only

friend.

Krishna

the in-

carnation of Bhakti.

Then

in the intensity
is

of that burning love of

God which

in his

simple heart, the devotee's form and features suddenly

grow

stifif

and motionless, un-

consciousness overtakes him, his eyes lose

their sight,
pale,

and tears

trickle

down

his fixed,

but smiling

face.

There

is

a tran-

scendent sense and meaning in that unconsciousness.

in his soul

What
when he

he perceives and enjoys

has lost
all

outward per-

ception

who can

say?
79

Who will fathom the

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
depth of that insensibility which the love of

God produces?
thing, hears,
all

But that he

sees
is

some-

and enjoys when he

is

dead to
If

the outward world there

no doubt.

not,

why should

he, in the

midst of that un-

consciousness, burst into floods of tears

and

break out into prayers, songs and utterances the force and pathos of which pierce

through the hardest heart, and bring tears

to eyes that never before wept under the in-

fluence of rehgion?

Anon he would begin

to talk of Kali,

whom
God

he addresses as his mother.

She

is

the incarnation of the Shakti, or power of

as displayed in the character

and

in-

fluence of

woman.

Kali

is

the female prin-

ciple in the nature of the Deity.

She tyran-

nizes over

all

tyrants.

She brings down her

husband low upon the ground, and places

her foot upon his bosomt

She charms and

is

conquers

all

beings.

Yet she
80

the

mother

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
of creation.

Her tremendous power

is

guarantee that she can save and protect her

children, those that

come to her

as their

mother, and ask the shelter of her

feet.

Her

motherly solicitude excites the tenderest

filial

affection in the hearts of her devotees,

and the

inspiration

of

Ramprosad Sen
the most wonder-

which expressed
ful

itself in

songs of

filial

piety ever sung, bears

strange testimony to the reality and effectiveness of the worship of Kali.

tion of Shakti (which literally
is,

The

adora-

means Force)
a
child-like,

according to our

saint,

whole-souled,
to the

rapturous
of

self-consecration
as represented
of

motherhood

God

by the power and influence

woman.
been
re-

Woman,

therefore,

'has

long

nounced by our
carnal relation.

friend in every material

and

He

has a wife but has

never associated with her.

says, is

Woman,

he

unconquerable by
81

man

except by

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
him.

who

looks up to her as a son.

Woman
holiest

fascinates

and keeps the whole world from

the love of God.

saints

The highest and

have been brought back to carnality

and

sin

by the nameless power of woman.

The

absolute conquest of lust has been his

lifelong ambition.
fore,

For long

years, thereefforts to

he says, he made the utmost

be delivered from the influence of woman.

His heart-rending supplications and prayers

for

such deliverance, sometimes uttered

in
his

aloud

retreat

on the

river-side,

brought crowds of people who

cried

bitterly

when he

cried,

and could not help

blessing
their

him and wishing him success with

hearts.

whole

He
to

has successfully escaped the evil of

carnality

which he dreaded.
he prayed, that
is

His Mother
the goddess
as

whom

Kali,

made him recognize every woman

her incarnation, so that he

82

now honors

each

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
member
of the other sex as
his
'his

mother.

He bows
sisted

head to the ground before

little girls;

women, and before

he has
of

in-

upon worshipping not a few

them

as a son might worship his mother.

The

purity of his thoughts and relations to-

wards
tive.

women
It is It is

is

most unique and

instruc-

the opposite of the European

idea.
ally,

an attitude

essentially, tradition-

gloriously national.

Yes, a

Hindu can

honor woman.
"

My

father,"

says

the

Paramhamsa,
I,

" was a worshipper of

Rama.

too, have

accepted the Ramayat covenant.

I think of the piety of

When

my father,

the flowers
his favorite
fill

with which he used to worship

god bloom again

in

Divine fragrance."
dutiful son, the

it with my heart and Rama the truthful and

good and

faithful

husband,

the just and fatherly king, the staunch and

affectionate friend,
is

regarded by him with

83

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
the love and profound loyalty of a devoted
servant.

As a master
is

the privilege of

whose

service

sufficient

reward to the favored,

a master in whose dear

faithful servant, as

and matchless
life is

service the laying

down

of

a delightful duty, as a master

who

has

wholly enslaved the body and soul of his

adoring

slave, the

contemplation of whose

holy and glorious worth transcends every

thought of remuneration and return,

is

Rama
the

viewed by Ramakrishna.
of

Hanuman,
is

renowned follower

Rama,

to

him a

model

of a faithful servitor, a being

who

was devoted to

his master's cause, inspired

by such unworldly love and honor, such

superhuman

faithfulness as

scorned alike

death and danger, or hope of reward.

the other sin which he spent his
free from,
is

So

life

to be
sight

the love of money.

The

of

money

fills

him with strange dread.

His
the

avoidance of

women and
84

wealth

is

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
whole secret of
acter. his matchless

moral charsin-

For a long time he practised a

gular discipline.

He

took in one hand a

piece of gold and in the other a

earth.

lump

of

He

would then look

at both, re-

peatedly calling the gold earth, and the

earth gold, and then shuffling the contents
of

one hand into the other, he would keep

until

up the process
difiference

he

lost all sense of the

between the gold and the

is

earth.

His

ideal of service

absolute unworldli-

ness and freedom from the desire of gain.

He loves and

serves

Rama because Rama is

The
serv-

the best and most loving master.

ice of the true saint
is

the service of the

purest afifection and most unselfish loyalty.

Some
this

of the songs he sings expressive of

touching devotedness are exceedingly

pathetic,

and show how very negligent we

often are.

Nor is

his reverence confined within

Hin-

85

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
duism.

For long days he subjected himself

to various disciplines to realize the

Ma-

homedan idea of an
let his

all-powerful Allah.

He

beard grow, he fed himself on Mos-

lem

diet,

he continually repeated sentences

His reverence for Christ

from the Koran.

is

deep and genuine.

He bows

his

head

at

the

name

of Jesus, honors the doctrine of

his sonship,

and we believe he once or twice

places
of

attended

Christian
at
all

worship.
catholic
saint.

These ideas

events

show the

religious culture of this great

Hindu

Each form

of worship that
is

we have

tried

to indicate above
living

to the

Paramhamsa

and most enthusiastic

principle of

personal religion, and the accounts of discipline

and exercise through which he has

arrived at his present state of devotional

eclectism

are

most wonderful, although

they cannot be published.

He

never writes

anything, seldom argues, he never attempts

86

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
to/instruct, he
his soul in a
is

continually pouring out

spiritual utter-

rhapsody of

ances, he sings wonderfully,

and makes ob-

servations of singular wisdom.

He

uncon-

sciously throws a flood of marvelous light

upon

the obscurest passages of the Puranic

Shastras, and brings out the fundamental

principles of the popular

Hindu

faith

with

a philosophical clearness which strangely

contrasts
Ufe.
itself

with his simple and

illiterate

These incarnations, he

says, are

but

the forces (Shakti) and dispensations (Lila)

of the eternally wise

and blessed Akhanda

never can be changed

Sachchiddnanda
or formulated,

who
is

who

one endless and ever-

lasting ocean of light, truth

If all his

and

joy.

utterances could be recorded

they would form a volume of strange and

wonderful wisdom.

If all his

observations

on men and things could be reproduced,

people might think that the days of proph87

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
ecy, of primeval, unlearned

wisdom had

re-

turned.

But

it is

most

difficult to

render

his sayings in English.*

A living evidence of the depth and sweetness of

Hindu

religion

is

this

good and holy

flesh.

man.

He

has wholly controlled his

It is full of soul, full of

the reality of re-

ligion, full of joy, full of blessed purity.

As

a Siddha

Hindu

ascetic he

is

a witness of

the falsehood and emptiness of the world.

His witness appeals to the profoundest

heart of every Hindu.

He

has no other

thought, no other occupation, no other relation,

no other

friend in his

humble

life

than his God.

That God

is

more than

sufficient for him.

His spotless holiness,

his

his

deep unspeakable blessedness, wisdom,

un-

studied, endless
fulness

his childlike peaceall

and affection towards

men,

his

Prof. Max MuUer has recently given a number of these sayings to the -nrorld in a volume entitled " Ramalcrishna, His Life and Sayings."

88

PARAMHAMSA RAMAKRISHNA
consuming, all-absorbing love for God are
his only reward.

And may

he long con-

tinue

to

enjoy that reward!

Our own

ideal of religious life is different, but so long

as he

is

spared to us, gladly shall

we

sit

at

his feet to learn

from him the sublime pre-

cepts of purity, unworldliness, spirituality

and inebriation

in the love of

God.

89

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