Touched by God (Lives of the mystics - A chronicle) -1

Touched by God

By Swami Chetanananda, Belur Math.
From 'God Lived With Them'

(Part one)

Swami Vivekananda

"Do you see a light when you are falling asleep?"

"Yes, I do. Doesn’t everyone?" The boy’s voice was filled with wonder.

Soon after they first met, Sri Ramakrishna asked Narendra this question; his reply provided the Master with a deep insight into the past, the nature, and the destiny of this remarkable youngster who would later become Swami Vivekananda. In Vivekananda’s adult years he himself described this supernormal faculty:

"From the earliest time that I can remember, I used to see a marvellous point of light between my eye-brows as soon as I shut my eyes to go to sleep, and I used to watch its various changes with great attention. That marvellous point of light would change colours and get bigger until it took the form of a ball; finally it would burst and cover my body from head to foot with white liquid light.

As soon as that happened, I would lose outer consciousness and fall asleep. I used to believe that was the way everybody went to sleep. Then, when I grew older and began to practise meditation, that point of light would appear to me as soon as I closed my eyes, and I would concentrate upon that."

Sri Ramakrishna had a vision

One day I found that my mind was soaring high in samadhi along a luminous path. As it ascended higher, I found on both sides of the way ideal forms of gods and goddesses. The mind then reached the outer limits of that region, where the luminous barrier separated the sphere of relative existence from that of the Absolute. Crossing that barrier, the mind entered the transcendental realm, where no corporal being was visible. But the next moment I saw seven venerable sages, seated there in samadhi. It occurred to me that these sages must have surpassed not only men but even the gods in knowledge and holiness, in renunciation and love.

Lost in admiration, I was reflecting on their greatness, when I saw a portion of the undifferentiated luminous region condense into the form of a divine child. The child came to one of the sages, tenderly clasped his neck with his lovely arms, and, addressing him in a sweet voice, tried to drag his mind down from the state of samadhi. That magic touch roused the sage from his super-conscious state, and he fixed his half-open eyes upon the wonderful child. In great joy the strange child spoke to him:

"I am going down. You too must go with me."

The sage remained mute, but his tender look expressed his assent. No sooner had I seen Narendra than I recognized him to be that sage.

Later Sri Ramakrishna disclosed the fact that the divine child was none other than himself.

Swami Vivekananda was born in Calcutta at 6.49 a.m. on Monday, 12 January 1863, and was given the name Narendranath Datta. Bhuvaneshwari Devi, Narendra’s mother, had practised austerities and prayed to Vireshwar Shiva of Varanasi to give her a son. She was delighted that the Lord had answered her prayer. Bhuvaneshwari Devi was deeply religious and raised her children according to the ancient spiritual traditions of India. She taught Narendra: "Remain pure all your life; guard your own honour and never transgress the honour of others. Be very tranquil, but when necessary, harden your heart."

His father, Vishwanath Datta, was an attorney of the Calcutta High Court. He was extremely generous, and had a progressive outlook in social and religious matters, owing perhaps to the influence of the western education he had received.

Brought up and educated in nineteenth-century Calcutta, Narendra was introduced at an early age to the principles of Western thinking, which taught that one should not accept anything without evidence. Although he was a brilliant student and well-versed in history, philosophy, literature, and contemporary Western thought, he firmly held his conviction: Do not believe a thing because you read it in a book. Do not believe a thing because another has said it is so. Find out the truth for yourself. That is realization.

Sri Ramakrishna said about him: "Narendra is a great soul – perfect in meditation. He cuts the veils of maya to pieces with the sword of knowledge. Inscrutable maya can never bring him under her control."

Once a cobra appeared when Narendra was meditating with his friends. The other boys were frightened; they shouted warning to him, and ran away. But Narendra remained motionless. The cobra, after lingering for a while, crawled away. Later he told his parents: "I knew nothing of the snake or anything else. I was feeling inexpressible joy."

At the age of fifteen he experienced spiritual ecstasy. He was journeying with his family to Raipur in Central India, and part of the trip had to be made in a bullock cart. On that particular day the air was crisp and beautiful plumage sang in the forest. The cart was moving through a narrow pass where the lofty peaks rising on both sides almost touched each other. Narendra caught sight of a large beehive in the cleft of a giant cliff. The hive must have been there a very long time. Suddenly his mind was filled with awe and reverence for the Divine Providence, and he lost outer consciousness. Perhaps this was the first time that his powerful imagination helped him to ascend to the realm of the superconscious.

Once during his days as a student, Narendra had a vision:

While at school one night I was meditating behind closed doors and had a fairly deep concentration of mind. How long I meditated in that way I cannot say. After the meditation was over I remained seated. Then from the southern wall of that room a luminous figure stepped out and stood in front of me. It was the figure of a Sannyasin (monk), absolutely calm, with shaven head, and staff and kamandalu (water pot) in either hand. He gazed at me for some time, and seemed as if he would address me. I, too, gazed at him in speechless wonder. Suddenly a kind of fright seized me. I opened the door and hurried out of the room. Then it struck me that it was foolish of me to run away like that; perhaps he might say something to me. But I have never seen that figure since. I think it was the Lord Buddha whom I saw.

Principal William Hastie of General Assembly’s Institution (now Scottish Church College) remarked: "Narendranath is really a genius. I have travelled far and wide but I have never yet come across a lad of his talents and possibilities, even in German universities, amongst philosophical students."

Dr. Brajendra Nath Seal, Narendra’s fellow student, who later became a leading Indian philosopher, wrote: "Undeniably a gifted youth, sociable, free and unconventional in manners, a sweet singer, the soul of social circles, a brilliant conversationalist, somewhat bitter and caustic, piercing with the shafts of a keen wit the shows, and mummeries of the world, sitting in the scorner’s chair but hiding the most tender of hearts under that garb of cynicism; altogether an inspired bohemian but possessing what bohemians lack, an iron will; somewhat peremptory and absolute, speaking with accents of authority and withal possessing a strange power of the eye which could hold his listeners in thrall."

Narendra was a well-rounded person: he was a musician, debater, gymnast, philanthropist, an ideal yogi, mystic, ascetic, worker, and philosopher. He was energy personified. Some years later he told one of his English disciples: "In my childhood I used to observe an inexhaustible force arising in me, overflowing in my body, as it were. I used to become restless and could not keep quiet. This was why I used to fidget all the time… My insides would vibrate, as it were, and make me restless to do something."

Romain Rolland, the famed French writer and Swami Vivekananda’s biographer, wrote: "He was tall (five feet, eight and half inches), 170 pounds, square shouldered, broad chested, stout, rather heavily built; his arms were muscular and trained to all kinds of sports. He had an olive complexion, a full face, vast forehead, strong jaw, a pair of magnificent eyes, large, dark and rather prominent, with heavy lids, whose shape recalled the classic comparison to a lotus petal.

Nothing escaped the magic of his glance, capable equally of embracing in its irresistible charm, or of sparkling with wit, irony, or kindness, of losing itself in ecstasy, of plunging imperiously to the very depths of consciousness and of withering with its fury. But his pre-eminent characteristic was kingliness. He was a born king and nobody ever came near him either in India or America without paying homage to his majesty."

In his intense desire to realize the truth, young Narendra practised meditation; he studied different religious and philosophical systems of the East and the West; he met different religious leaders, but nothing was of any avail. He even joined the Brahmo Samaj, a socio-religious organization, and asked its leader, Devendranath Tagore, "Sir, Have you seen God?"

Devendranath was embarrassed and replied: "My boy, you have the eyes of a yogi. You should practise meditation."

Narendra’s spiritual struggle continued. His first introduction to Ramakrishna occurred one day in a literature class, when he heard Principal Hastie lecturing on Wordworth’s The Excursion and the poet’s nature mysticism. Hastie told his students that with purity and concentration such transcendental experience was possible, but in modern times had become extremely rare. "I have known only one person," he added, "who has realized that blessed state, and he is Ramakrishna of Dakshineshwar. You will understand it better if you visit this saint."

(Part 2)

First Meeting with Sri Ramakrishna

Ramachandra Datta, Narendra’s cousin and a devotee of Ramakrishna, was aware of Narendra’s genuine hunger for God. Ramachandra told him: "If you really want to cultivate spirituality, then visit Ramakrishna at Dakshineshwar."

However, Narendra first met Ramakrishna in Calcutta in November 1881 at the house of the Master’s devotee Surendra Nath Mittra. Surendra had arranged a religious gathering and had invited Narendra to entertain the Master and the devotees with his devotional singing. The Master was extremely impressed with Narendra and after a few enquiries asked him to visit him at Dakshineshwar.

Narendra first visited Dakshineshwar sometime in the early part of 1882. He entered the Master’s room by the western door that faces the Ganges. Indifferent to his external appearance, Narendra’s clothes were disheveled; his impressive eyes were partly indrawn. Ramakrishna marvelled: "How is it possible that such a great spiritual aspirant can live in Calcutta, the home of the worldly-minded?" There was a mat spread out on the floor. The Master asked him and his friends to sit on it, and then asked Narendra to sing a song. Narendra sang a song of the Brahmo Samaj:

Let us go back once more, O mind, to our proper home!
Here in this foreign land of earth
Why should we wander aimlessly in stranger’s guise?…

This song put the Master into ecstasy. When the singing was over, he took Narendra to the northern Veranda and closed the door. With tearful eyes the Master said to Narendra: "You have come so late! Was that proper? Couldn’t you have guessed how I have been waiting for you? My ears are nearly burned off, listening to the talk of these worldly people. I thought I should burst, not having anyone to tell how I really felt."

Then with folded hand he said: "I know who you are, my Lord. You are Nara, the ancient sage, the incarnation of Narayana. You have come to earth to take away the sufferings and sorrows of mankind." The rational Narendra was dumbfounded, regarding this as the babble of an insane person.

When they returned to the Master’s room, Narendra’s mind was agitated by the strange words and conduct of Ramakrishna. However, he asked the Master: "Sir, have you seen God?"

Without a moment’s hesitation Ramakrishna replied: "Yes, I have seen God. I see Him as I see you here, only more clearly. God can be seen. One can talk to Him. But who cares for God? People shed torrents of tears for their wives, children, wealth, and property, but who weeps for the vision of God? If one cries, sincerely for God, one can surely see Him."

"That impressed me at once," said Narendra later. "For the first time I found a man who dared to say that he had seen God, that religion was a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world."

Narendra felt that Ramakrishna’s words were uttered from the depths of his inner experience. Still, he could not comprehend the Master’s words and conduct. Bewildered, he bowed down to the Master and returned to Calcutta.

A month later Narendra returned to Dakshineshwar and found the Master alone in his room. Ramakrishna was glad to see Narendra and asked him to sit on the corner of his bed. After a few minutes the Master drew near him in an ecstatic mood, muttered some words, fixed his eyes on him, and placed his right foot on Narendra’s body. At his touch Narendra saw, with open eyes, the whole world vanishing – the walls, the room, the temple garden, and even himself were disappearing into the void. He felt sure that he was facing death. He cried out loudly: "Ah, what are you doing to me? Don’t you know that I have parents at home?"

Listening to this the Master laughed and then touching Narendra’s chest, said: "All right, let it stop now. It will happen in its own good time." With this Narendra became normal again.

Narendra was proud of his strong body, sound mind, and rational intellect; but he felt helpless in front of Ramakrishna: he could not control himself. During his third visit to Dakshineshwar he tried his utmost to be on guard. The Master went for a walk with Narendra to Jadu Mallik’s garden house where they both sat down in the parlour. Then the Master went into an ecstatic mood and touched Narendra, who lost outer consciousness. In that state the Master asked Narendra questions about his past, his mission in the world, the duration of his present life, and so on. The answers only confirmed what he had seen about Narendra in the vision he had experienced many years before. Later the Master told his other disciples: "Narendra is a great soul, perfect in meditation. The day he recognizes his true self he will give up his body by an act of will, through yoga.

Master and Disciple

According to Hindu tradition, the disciple must obey the Guru without question. However, the influence of Western thinking did not allow Narendra to accept this; he was determined to test for himself everything that Ramakrishna taught him. He felt it was wrong for someone to surrender freedom of judgement to another. After their third meeting, Narendra felt the Master’s superhuman spiritual power, but he was still somewhat sceptical. His scepticism made him one of the most reliable of all witnesses to Ramakrishna’s greatness. Later he said to a Western disciple: "Let none regret that they were difficult to convince. I fought my Master for six long years, with the result that I know every inch of the way."

The meeting of Narendra and Ramakrishna was an important event in the lives of both. It was like a meeting between the occident and the orient, the modern and the ancient. Ramakrishna tamed the rebellious Narendra with his infinite patience, love, and vigilance. The Master was fully convinced of Narendra’s divine nature and mission to the world. He could not bear the slightest criticism of Narendra and told devotees: "Let no one judge him hastily. People will never understand him fully."

Ramakrishna did not hesitate to praise Narendra’s greatness in the presence of one and all, which sometimes embarrassed Narendra. One day Keshab Sen and Vijaykrishna Goswami, who were leaders of the Brahmo Samaj, visited Dakshineshwar with a number of Brahmo devotees. Narendra was also present. The Master remarked: "If Keshab possesses one virtue which has made him world famous, Naren is endowed with eighteen such virtues. I have seen in Keshab and Vijay the divine light burning like a candle flame, but in Naren it shines with the radiance of the sun."

Narendra later vehemently protested to the Master: "Sir, people will think you are mad if you talk like that. Keshab is famous all over the world. Vijay is a saint. And I am an insignificant student. How can you speak of us in the same breath? Please, I beg you, never say such things again."

"I cannot help it," replied the Master. "Do you think these are my words? The Divine Mother showed me certain things about you, which I repeated. And she reveals to me nothing but the truth."

"How do you know it was Mother who told you?" Narendra objected. "All this may be fiction of your own brain. Science and philosophy prove that our senses often deceive us, especially when there is a desire in our minds to believe something. You are fond of me and you wish to see me great – that may be why you have these visions."

The Master was perplexed. He appealed to the Divine Mother for guidance, and was told: " Why do you care what he says? In a short time he will accept every word of yours as true."

Ramakrishna’s affection for Narendra astonished everyone. If Narendra could not come to Dakshineshwar for a long time, the Master cried for him or he went to see him in Calcutta. Ramakrishna knew that he would not live long in this world, so he was eager to train his foremost disciple as early as possible. One Sunday the Master went to visit him at the Brahmo Samaj Temple, where Narendra sang devotional songs during the evening service. When he arrived in the middle of the service, there was a commotion among the congregation to see the saint of Dakshineshwar. The preacher was annoyed and abruptly ended his sermon, and the ushers turned out all the gaslights in order to make people leave the building – a move which resulted in a chaotic stampede to the doors in the darkness.

Narendra was greatly pained by the Master’s humiliation. He managed to elbow his way to Ramakrishna’s side, then he led him out through a back door, got him into a carriage and rode with him to Dakshineshwar. Narendra reprimanded the Master, but Ramakrishna didn’t care a bit about the scolding or his humiliating experience with the Brahmos. Then Narendra told him severely: "It is written in the Puranas that King Bharata thought so much about his favourite deer that he himself became a deer after his death. If that’s true, you should beware of thinking about me!"

The Master was simple, much like a little boy. He took these words very seriously, because Narendra was a man of truth. Ramakrishna went to the temple and returned shortly, beaming with delight and exclaimed: "You rascal, I won’t listen to you anymore. Mother said that I love you because I see the Lord in you. The day I shall not see Him in you, I shall not be able to bear even the sight of you."

As a member of the Brahmo Samaj, Narendra was committed to the belief in a formless God with attributes, and he despised all image worship. His friend Rakhal (later, Swami Brahmananda) also became a member of the Brahmo Samaj, even though he was devotional by nature. Later, under Ramakrishna’s influence, Rakhal returned to the worship of God with form. When Narendra saw Rakhal bowing down before the images, he scolded his friend for breaking the Brahmo pledge. Rakhal was too soft natured to argue, but he was hurt and began to avoid Narendra. The Master intervened, saying to Narendra: "Please do not intimidate Rakhal. He is afraid of you. He now believes in God with form. How are you going to change him? Everyone cannot realise the formless aspect of God at the very beginning." That was enough: Narendra never interfered with Rakhal’s practice again.

Ramakrishna knew that Narendra’s mind was naturally inclined to the path of knowledge, so he initiated him into the teachings of nondualistic Vedanta. Sometimes he asked Narendra to read aloud passages from the Ashtavakra Samhita and other Vedanta treatises so that he could grasp the meaning of the Vedanta philosophy which teaches that Brahman is the ultimate Reality, existence- consciousness- bliss absolute. The individual soul is Brahman and nothing else. The world is shown to be nothing but name and form, all of which is apparent, not real, having only a relative existence.

In the beginning it was hard for Narendra to accept the non-dualistic view that "everything is really Brahman," because he was then a staunch follower of the Brahmo Samaj, which taught a theistic philosophy. He said to the Master: "It is blasphemous, for there is no difference between 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! The sages who wrote such things must have been insane."
The Master didn’t mind Narendra’s outspokenness at all. He smiled and said: You may not accept the views of these seers. But how can you abuse them or limit God’s infinitude? Go on praying to the God of Truth and believe in any aspect of His that He reveals to you."
One day while chanting with Hazra at Dakshineshwar, Narendra ridiculed the Vedantic experience of oneness: "How can this be? This jug is God, this cup is God, and we too are God! Nothing can be more preposterous!" When the Master heard Narendra’s comment from his room, he came out and enquired: "Hello! What are you talking about?" Ramakrishna touched Narendra and went into samadhi. Later Narendra graphically described the effect of that touch:
"The magic touch of the Master that day immediately brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was stupefied to find that there was really nothing in the universe but God! I saw it quite clearly but kept silent, to see if the idea would last. But the impression did not abate in the course of the day. I returned home, but there too, everything I saw appeared to be Brahman. I sat down to take my meal, but found that everything – the food, the place, 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. I felt that the cabs and myself were of one stuff. There was no sensation in my limbs, which, I thought, were getting paralyzed. I did not relish eating, and felt as if somebody else were eating. Sometimes I lay down during a meal, after a few minutes, got up and again began to eat. The result would be that on some days I would take too much, but it did not harm. My mother became alarmed and said that there must be something wrong with me. She was afraid that I might not live long. When the above state altered a little, the world began to appear to me as a dream. While walking in Cornwallis (now Azadhind Bag; gardens), 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 Advaita (nondual) state. Then it struck me that the words of the scriptures were not false. Thenceforth I could not deny the conclusions of the Advaita philosophy."
One-day Ramakrishna’s whole attitude to Narendra suddenly seemed to change. The Master looked at him without the least sign of pleasure and remained silent. Narendra thought that the Master was in a spiritual mood. He waited for a while, and then went to the Veranda and began talking to Hazra. In the evening Narendra bowed down to the Master and left for Calcutta. On his next several visits, the Master’s mood towards Narendra did not change. He received him with the same apparent indifference. Ignored by the Master, he spent the days with Hazra and other disciples and returned home as usual. Finally, after more than a month, the Master asked Narendra,
"Why do you come here, when I don’t speak a single word to you?"
Narendra answered: "Do you think I come here just to have you speak to me? I love you. I want to see you. That’s why I come."
The Master was delighted.
"I was testing you to see if you would stop coming when you didn’t get love and attention. Only a spiritual aspirant of your quality could put up with so much neglect and indifference. Anyone else would have left me long ago."
 Narendra was very bold and frank. He did not speak about people behind their backs. He took delight in criticizing the Master’s spiritual experiences as evidence of a lack of self-control. He would even make fun of his worship of Kali. "Why do you come here?" the Master once asked him, "if you do not accept Kali, my Mother?"
"Bah! Must I accept her," Narendra retorted, "simply because I come to see you? I come to you because I love you."
"All right," said the Master, "before long you will not only accept my blessed Mother, but weep while repeating her name."
As Ramakrishna tested Narendra in various ways before accepting him as a disciple, so did Narendra test Ramakrishna before he accepted him as a guru. Narendra heard that the Master’s renunciation was so absolute that he could not bear the touch of money. One day Narendra arrived at Dakshineshwar and found that the Master had gone to Calcutta. Suddenly he felt a desire to test the Master. He hid a Rupee under the Master’s mattress and waited for him. The Master returned, but no sooner had he touched the bed than he drew back in pain, as if stung by a scorpion. The Master called a temple attendant to examine the bed, and the Rupee was discovered. Narendra admitted that he had put the money there. The Master was not displeased at all. He said to Narendra: "You must test me as the money changers test their coins. You mustn’t accept me until you’ve tested me thoroughly."
On another occasion, the Master put Narendra to a difficult test. He said to him: "As a result of the austerities I have practised, I have possessed all the supernatural powers for a long time. I am thinking of asking the Mother to transfer them all to you. She has told me that you will be able to use them when necessary. What do you say?"
Narendra asked: "Will they help me to realize God?"
"No," said the Master, "they won’t help you to do that. But they might be very useful after you have realized God and when you start doing His work."
Narendra said: "Then let me realize God first. After that, it will be time enough to decide if I need them or not. If I accept them now, I may forget God, make selfish use of them, and thus come to grief."
The Master was greatly pleased to see Narendra’s single minded devotion.
Ramakrishna emphasized the practice of chastity to his young disciples, whom he considered to be future monks. He told Narendra that if a man maintains absolute chastity for twelve years, his mind becomes purified and open to the knowledge of God. When the Master heard that Narendra’s parents were arranging his marriage, he wept, holding the feet of the image of Kali. With tears in his eyes he prayed to the Divine Mother: "O Mother, please upset the whole thing! Don’t let Narendra be drowned." However, Narendra’s unwillingness forced his parents to cancel the marriage.

(Part 3)

The Training of Narendra

Only a good student can be a good teacher. The Katha Upanishad says:
"Wonderful is the expounder (of the Atman or Soul) and rare the hearer; rarer indeed is the experiencer of Atman taught by an able preceptor." (1.2.7).
Ramakrishna was an avatar, an incarnation of God who came to the world to establish the eternal religion; he made Narendra a vehicle to carry out his mission. In the parable of the four blind men and the elephant, Ramakrishna recounted how each man touched a different part of the elephant, declared his partial understanding, and then they began to quarrel among themselves. But one with clear vision sees the whole elephant and does not quarrel. People with only partial realization form sects but those who have full realization cannot form sects. Ramakrishna therefore trained Narendra to have full realization and carry his message of the harmony of religions to the modern world.
On 5^th March 1882, the Master asked Narendra: "How do you feel about it? Worldly people say all kinds of things about the spiritually minded. But look here! When an elephant moves along the street any number of curs and other small animals may bark and cry after it; but the elephant doesn’t even look back at them. If people speak ill of you, what will you think of them?"
Narendra replied: "I shall think that dogs are barking at me."
The Master smiled and said: "Oh no! You must not go that far, my child! God dwells in all beings. But you may be intimate only with good people; you must keep away from the evil-minded. God is even in the tiger, but you cannot embrace the tiger on that account. You may say, ‘Why run away from a tiger, which is also a manifestation of God? The answer to that is: Those who tell you to run away are also manifestations of God – and why shouldn’t you listen to them?"
On 19^th August 1883, Ramakrishna went to the Veranda and saw Narendra talking to Hazra, who often indulged in dry philosophical discussions. Hazra would say that the world is unreal, like a dream: worship, food offerings to the Deity, and so forth, are only hellucinations of the mind. He would repeat: "I am He."
When the Master asked Narendra what they were talking about, Narendra replied with a smile: "Oh, we are discussing a great many things. They are rather too deep for others."
Ramakrishna replied: "But pure love and pure knowledge are one and the same thing. Both lead the aspirants to the same goal. The path of love is much easier."
On 25^th June 1884, Ramakrishna advised his disciples to dive deep in God-consciousness and then sang a song:
"Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in the Ocean of God’s beauty. If you descend to the uttermost depths, there you will find the gem of love."
Then he continued: "One does not die if one sinks in this Ocean. This is the Ocean of immortality."
Once he said to Narendra: "God is the Ocean of Bliss. Tell me if you want to plunge into It. Just imagine there is some syrup in a cup and that you have become a fly. Now tell me where you will sit to sip the syrup?"
Narendra answered: "I will sit on the edge of the cup and stretch out my neck to drink, because I am sure to die if I go far into the cup."
Then Ramakruishna said to him: "But my child, this is the Ocean of Satchidananda. There is no fear of death in it. This is the Ocean of Immortality."
On 11^th March 1885 M. recorded in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:
Many of his devotees were in (Ramakrishna’s) room. Narendra did not believe that God could incarnate Himself in a human body. But Girish (a devotee) differed with him; he had the burning faith that from time to time the Almighty Lord, through His inscrutable Power, assumes a human body and descends to earth to serve a divine purpose. The Master said to Girish: "I should like to hear you and Narendra argue in English." The discussion began; but they talked in Bengali.
Narendra: "God is Infinity. How is it possible for us to comprehend Him? He dwells in every human being. It is not the case that he manifests Himself through one person only."
Master (tenderly): "I quite agree with Narendra. God is everywhere. But then you must remember that there are different manifestations of His Power in different beings. At some places there is a manifestation of His Avidya-shakti (God’s power manifesting as ignorance), at others manifestation of His Vidya-shakti (God’s power manifesting as knowledge). Through different instruments God’s Power is manifest in different degrees, greater or smaller. Therefore all men are not equal."
Ram: "What is the use of these futile arguments?"
Master (sharply): "No! No! There is a meaning in all this."
Girish (to Narendra): "How do you know that God does not assume a human body?"
Narendra: "God is ‘beyond words or thought.’"
Master: "No, that is not true. He can be known by pure Buddhi (intellect), which is the same as the Pure Self. The seers of old directly perceived the Pure Self through their pure buddhi."
Girish (to Narendra): "Unless God Himself teaches men through His human Incarnation, who else will teach them spiritual mysteries?"
Narendra: "Why, God dwells in our own heart; He will certainly teach us from within the heart."
Master (tenderly): "Yes, yes. He will teach us as our Inner Guide…I clearly see that God is everything; He Himself has become all….I cannot utter a word unless I come down at least two steps from the plane of samadhi. Shankara’s non-dualistic explanation of Vedanta is true, and so is the qualified non-dualistic interpretation of Ramanuja."
Narendra: "What is non-qualified non-dualism?"
Master: "It is the theory of Ramanuja. According to this theory, Brahman, or the Absolute, is qualified by the universe and its living beings. These three – Brahman, the world, and living beings – together constitute One."
Narendra was sitting beside the Master. He touched Narendra’s body and said: As long as a man argues about God, he has not realized Him. The nearer you approach to God, the less you reason and argue. When you attain Him, then all sounds – all reasoning and disputing – come to an end. Then you go into Samadhi – into communion with God in silence."

(Part 4)

Narendra’s Struggle

In the early part of 1884, Narendra’s father died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Unfortunately, he left behind many unsettled debts, and the once well to do family was suddenly thrust into acute poverty. To add to their troubles, some relatives filed a lawsuit with the intent of depriving them of their home. Since Narendra was the eldest son, the responsibility for the family’s welfare fell upon his shoulders. He had just passed his B.A. examination and had been admitted to law school. Many times he attended classes without having eaten and was often faint with hunger and weakness. He had no job and, moreover, no previous work experience.

Forced by circumstances, Narendra began visiting business and government offices, barefooted and shabbily dressed, looking for a job. Occasionally, one of his friends, who knew the gravity of his situation, anonymously sent modest amounts of money to Narendra’s mother. His friends invited him now and then to their homes and offered him food, but the thought of his hungry mother, sisters, and brothers at home prevented him from eating. At home he would eat as little as possible in order that the others might have enough. This first contact with the harshness of life convinced Narendra that unselfish sympathy is rare in this world. There is no place here for the weak, the poor, and the destitute.

Misfortune does not come alone. Narendra related: "Various temptations came my way. A rich woman sent me an ugly proposal to end my days of penury, which I sternly rejected with scorn. Another woman also made similar overtures to me. I said to her: ‘You have wasted your life seeking the pleasures of the flesh. The dark shadows of death are before you. Have you done anything to face that? Give up all these filthy desires and remember God."

One day, after a futile search for a job, he sat down in the shade of the Ochterloney Monument in the Maidan (a large park). A friend who happened to be with him wanted to console him with a song: "Here blows the wind, the breath of Brahman; It is His grace we feel."

Narendra furiously blurted out: "Be quiet! That fanciful nonsense is all right for people living in the lap of luxury – people who have no idea what hunger is – people whose nearest and dearest aren’t going in rags and starving. No doubt it sounds true and beautiful to them – as it did to me. But now I have seen what life is really like. That song is just a pack of lies."

Despite what he had said to his friend in the Maidan, Narendra did not lose his inborn faith in God and His mercy. He used to repeat the Lord’s name as he got out of bed in the morning. One day his mother overheard him and said bitterly: "Hush, you fool! You have been crying yourself hoarse for God since your childhood. Tell me what has God done for you?’

These words stung Narendra to the quick. A doubt crept into his mind about God’s existence and His providence.

It was not in Narendra’s nature to hide his feelings. He began to tell people aggressively that God did not exist and that praying to him was also futile. The rumour soon spread that Narendra had become an atheist, and furthermore that he was mixing with people of bad character. Gossip spreads faster than the gospel. The Master heard it, but he paid no attention. One day a friend of Narendra tearfully said to the Master: "Sir, we never dreamed Narendra would sink so low!"

Immediately the Master said: "Silence, you scoundrels! The (Divine) Mother has told me that it is simply not true. I shan’t look at your face if you speak to me again that way."

Narendra remembered his past spiritual experiences when he came in contact with the Master, and he was firmly convinced that he had not been born to earn money, support a family, or seek worldly enjoyments. He secretly prepared to renounce the world as his grandfather had done and even fixed a date. When he heard that the Master was visiting a devotee in Calcutta, he decided to see him before he left home forever. When they met, the Master persuaded Narendra to accompany him to Dakshineshwar. When they arrived in his room, the Master went into ecstasy and sang a song, which clearly indicated that he knew Narendra’s secret plan. That night he sent the others away and said to Narendra with tears: "I know you have come to the world to do Mother’s work; you can never lead a worldly life. But, for my sake, stay with your family as long as I am alive."

Narendra agreed. The next day he returned home and very quickly found a temporary job in an attorney’s office, which was sufficient to cover the bare existence of his family. Unable to find a permanent solution to the financial problems of his family, however, Narendra went to the Master one day and asked him to pray to the Divine Mother on his behalf, as Narendra had faith that She listened to the Master’s prayers.

The Master told him to go to the temple and pray to Her himself for help, assuring him that his request would be granted. Narendra went to the temple with great anticipation. But as soon as he came before the image of the Divine Mother, he saw Her as living and conscious: he forgot the world and the pitiable condition of his mother, sisters, and brothers. In ecstatic joy he prostrated before Her and prayed: "Mother, give me discrimination! Give me renunciation! Give me knowledge and devotion! Grant that I may have an uninterrupted vision of Thee!"

He went back to the Master and told him what had happened. The Master sent Narendra to the temple to pray again, but the same thing happened. The third time he remembered his intention, but he felt ashamed to ask for something so small from the Mother of the Universe. At last, at Narendra’s request, the Master blessed him, saying, "All right, your people at home will never be in want of plain food and clothing."

Narendra was relieved that his family would no longer suffer from starvation, and the Master was relieved that Narendra had accepted the worship of God with form. He knew that the concept of God as Mother would make Narendra’s spiritual life fuller and richer. Later Narendra said to one of his western disciples: "I used to hate Kali and all Her ways. That was my six years’ fight, because I would not accept Kali."

"But now you have accepted Her," interjected the disciple.

"I had to," said Narendra, "I had great misfortunes at that time. My father died, and so on… Ramakrishna dedicated me to Her. And, you know, I believe that She guides me in every little thing I do, and just does what She likes with me."

Ramakrishna gave love and freedom to his disciples so that they could grow in their own way. Throughout the rest of his life, Narendra would frequently say: "Ever since our first meeting, it was the Master alone who always had faith in me – no one else, not even my own mother and brothers. That faith and that love of his have bound me to him forever. The Master was the only one who knew how to love and who really loved. Worldly people only feign love to gratify their own self-interest."

Last Days with Sri Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna was a wonderful teacher, and he taught more by the silent influence of his inner life than by words or even by personal example. To live with him demanded of the disciple purity of thought, humility, truthfulness, and renunciation. He acted as a father, mother, and friend to his young disciples. He would joke and have fun with them and at the same time remind them that the goal of human life is God realization. They learned from their Master how to synthesize the four yogas (karma, bhakti, raja and jnana), the harmony of religions, the true meaning of the scriptures, and the worship of God in human beings.

One day at Dakshineshwar when the Master was seated in his room, he talked about three salient disciplines of the Vaishnava religion: love of God’s name, compassion for all living beings, and service to the devotees. Repeating the word Compassion he went into Samadhi. After a while he returned to normal consciousness and said to the devotees: " How foolish to speak of compassion! Man is an insignificant worm crawling on the earth – and he is to show compassion to others! This is absurd. It must not be compassion, but service to all. Recognize them as God’s manifestation and serve them." Only Narendra understood the implication of the Master’s words. Leaving the room, he said to the others:

"What a wonderful light I have discovered in those words of the Master! How beautifully he has reconciled the ideal of bhakti (devotion) with the knowledge of Vedanta, generally interpreted as dry, austere, and incompatible with human sentiments! What a grand, natural, and sweet synthesis! …Those following the Paths of karma (action) and yoga (contemplation) are similarly benefited by these words of the Master. The embodied being cannot remain even for a minute without activity. All his activities should be directed to the service of man, the manifestation of God upon earth, and this will accelerate his progress towards the goal. If it were the will of God, I shall one day proclaim this noble truth before the world at large. I shall make it the common property of all – the wise and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the Brahmin and the pariah."

Only a jeweller knows the value of a diamond. Ramakrishna knew the worth of his beloved disciple Narendra, so he made him the leader of his group of disciples. He told his disciples:

"Narendra belongs to a very high place – the realm of the Absolute. He has a manly nature. So many devotees come here, but there is no one like him. Every now and then I take stock of the devotees. I find that some are like lotuses with ten petals, some like lotuses with a hundred petals. But among lotuses Narendra is a thousand-petalled one. Other devotees may be like pots and pitchers; but Narendra is a huge water barrel. Others may be like pools or water tanks; but Narendra is a huge reservoir like the Haldarpukur. Among fish, Narendra is a huge red-eyed carp; others are like minnows, or smelts, or sardines. Narendra is a very big receptacle, one that can hold many things. He is like a bamboo with a big hollow space inside. Narendra is not under the control of anything. He is not under the control of attachment or sense pleasures. He is like a male pigeon. If you hold a male pigeon by its beak, it breaks away from you; but the female pigeon keeps still. I feel great strength when Narendra is with me in a gathering."

In the middle of 1885 Ramakrishna contracted throat cancer. For the convenience of his treatment he was first taken to Calcutta and then to Cossipore, a suburb of Calcutta. Without concern for his body, he continued to train his disciples. When they begged him not to strain himself, he replied: "I do not care. I will give up twenty thousand such bodies to help one person."

Sarada Devi, the Master’s wife, cooked for him, and Narendra and other young disciples took charge of nursing him. One day the Master distributed ochre monastic robes to Narendra and some of his young disciples and thus formed his own monastic order. He later told Narendra: "I leave them all to your care. See that they practise spiritual disciplines even after my passing away and that they do not return home."

Another day he wrote on a piece of paper, "Naren will teach people." When Narendra expressed opposition the Master said: "But you must. Your very bones will do it."

Ten years later Narendra described his Master’s message to humanity:

"First make character – that is the highest duty you can perform. Know truth for yourself, and there will be many to whom you can teach it afterwards; they will all come. This was the attitude of my Master. He criticized no one. For years I lived with that man, but never did I hear those lips utter one word of condemnation of any sect. I learned from my Master that the religions of the world are not contradictory or antagonistic. They are but various phases of one eternal religion.

Ramakrishna’s illness showed no signs of abating in spite of the best available care and treatment. When Narendra realized that the Master would not live long, he intensified his own spiritual practices. One day he entreated Ramakrishna for the experience of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the highest realization of Advaita Vedanta. But the Master reprimanded him: "Shame on you! You are asking for such an insignificant thing. I thought that you would be like a big banyan tree, and that thousands of people would rest in your shade. But now I see that you are seeking your own liberation." He said further: "There is a state higher than that. It is you who sing, ‘O Lord, Thou art all that exists." The Master wanted his disciples to see God in all beings and to serve them in a spirit of worship.

One evening, however, when Narendra was meditating with one of his brother disciples at Cossipore, he suddenly became aware of a light at the back of his head, as if a lamp had been placed there. It gradually became more brilliant until finally it seemed to burst. He was engulfed by that light and lost body consciousness. After sometime he began to regain normal consciousness and cried out, "Where is my body?" His amazed brother disciple assured him: ‘It is here. Don’t you feel it?" He then rushed to the Master’s room upstairs and told him of Narendra’s condition.

"Let him stay in that state for a while," remarked the Master, "he pestered me long enough for it."

For a long time Narendra remained immersed in Samadhi, forgetting space, time and causation. After regaining normal consciousness, he entered the Master’s room, and Ramakrishna told him: "Now the Mother has shown you everything. But this realization, like the jewel locked in a box, will be hidden away from you and kept in my custody. I will keep the key with me. Only after you have fulfilled your mission on this earth will the box be unlocked, and you will know everything as you have known now."

Narendra once narrated how the Master had transmitted his power into him: "Two or three days before Sri Ramakrishna’s passing away, he called me to his side and looked steadily at me and went into samadhi. Then I felt that a subtle force like an electric shock was entering my body! In a little while I also lost outward consciousness and sat motionless. How long I stayed in that condition I do not remember. When consciousness returned I found Sri Ramakrishna shedding tears. On questioning him, he answered me affectionately: ‘Today, giving you my all, I have become a beggar. With this power you are to do much work for the good of the world before you return.'

I feel that that power is constantly directing me to this or that work. This body has not been made for remaining idle."

A couple of days before Ramakrishna’s passing away, when the Master was in excruciating pain, a thought flashed across Narendra’s mind: "Well, now if you can declare that you are God, then only will I believe you are really God Himself." Immediately the Master looked up towards Narendra and said distinctly: "O my Naren, are you still not convinced? He who in the past was born as Rama and Krishna is now living in this very body as Ramakrishna – but not from the standpoint of your Vedanta (which posits that each soul is potentially divine), but actually so."

(Part 5)

After Sri Ramakrishna’s Passing Away

Ramakrishna passed away on Sunday, 16^th August 1886, plunging his devotees and disciples into an ocean of grief. The young disciples wanted to continue worshipping Ramakrishna’s relics at the Cossipore garden house, but they had no means to support themselves. The householder devotees, who had supported the Master, asked them to return home. However, three disciples had already left home forever, and they had no place to go. Narendra was helpless.

One evening early in September, while Surendra Nath Mittra was meditating in his household shrine, Ramakrishna appeared to him and said: "What are you doing here? My boys are roaming about, without a place to live. Attend to that, before anything else." Hearing the Master’s command, Surendra hurried to Narendra and told him everything that had happened. He promised to provide the same amount of money every month as he had given for the Cossipore house prior to Ramakrishna’s passing. Immediately Narendra and the disciples began to search for a house, and found one at Baranagore, midway between Dakshineshwar and Calcutta. Dreary, dilapidated, and deserted, it was a building that had a reputation of being haunted by evil spirits. It had two stories; the lower one was infested with lizards and snakes. This house was chosen because of its proximity to the Cossipore burning ghat, where the Master’s body had been cremated.

M. wrote about the first Ramakrishna monastery at Baranagore in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: "The members of the Math (monastery) called themselves the ‘danas’ and the ‘daityas,’ which means the ‘ghosts’ and the ‘demons,’ the companions of Shiva. They took these names because of their indifference to worldly pleasures and relationships… Narendra and the other members of the Math often spent their evenings on the roof. There they devoted a great deal of time to discussion of the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, and Jesus Christ, and of Hindu philosophy, European philosophy, the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Tantras."

In later years, Narendra reminisced about the early days in the monastery:

"After the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna we underwent a lot of religious practice at the Baranagore Math (monastery). We used to get up at 3.00 a.m. and after washing our faces, etc. – we would sit in the shrine and become absorbed in japam and meditation. What a strong spirit of dispassion we had in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the world existed or not… There were days when the japam and meditation continued from morning till four or five in the afternoon. Ramakrishnananda (a brother monk) waited and waited with our meals ready, till at last he would come and snatch us from our meditation by sheer force…. There were days when the monastery was without a grain of food. If some rice was collected by begging, there was no salt to take it with! On some days there would be only rice and salt, but nobody cared for it in the least. We were then being carried away by a tidal wave of spiritual practice. Oh, those wonderful days!"

In the middle of December 1886, Narendra and eight other disciples went to Antpur, the birth place of Baburam (later, Swami Premananda) for a retreat. One night they made a fire in the courtyard and sat around it for meditation. Suddenly Narendra was inspired to talk about Christ’s love and renunciation and his self-sacrifice for the good of humanity. In front of that sacred fire, the disciples vowed to embrace the monastic life. In a joyous mood they returned to their rooms and someone discovered that it was Christmas Eve – all felt doubly blest. After a week of retreat, they returned to Baranagore, and in the early part of 1887, took formal monastic vows. Narendra took the name of Swami Vividishananda. Later, prior to his journey to America, he changed his name to Swami Vivekananda at the request of Raja Ajit Singh of Khetri.

Many years later, Narendra said to one of his disciples: "One eye shed tears of grief when I left home, because I hated to leave my mother, grandmother, brothers and sisters; and the other eye shed tears of joy for my ideal." Luxury and too many material possessions take the mind away from God. That is why most mystics remove themselves from family ties and worldly possessions. This is one of the initial tests of a spiritual journey. God embraces those souls and makes everything favourable for them who are endowed with purity and renunciation, poverty and humility, devotion and longing.

As a Wandering Monk

There is a saying, "The monk is pure who goes, and the river is pure that flows." In 1888 Vivekananda left the monastery to live as a penniless wandering monk. He carried a staff, a water pot, and his two favourite books – Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ.

He first went to Varanasi, known as the city of light and a capital of ancient Indian culture. During his journey he met many holy people and scholars. One day while visiting the Durga Temple, he was attacked by a troop of monkeys. While he was running away, a monk shouted to him, "Face the brutes." Swamiji stopped and looked defiantly at the ugly beasts. They quickly disappeared. Later, as a preacher in America, he shared this experience with people and told them to face the dangers and vicissitudes of life and not run away from them. Vivekananda knew his life’s mission and felt a tremendous power within himself. He left the city of Varanasi with the prophetic words: "When I return here the next time, I shall burst upon society like a bombshell, and it will follow me like a dog."

On his way to Hardwar, he stopped at the Hathras Railroad Station. There he met Sharat Chandra Gupta, the assistant station master, whom he accepted as his disciple. When Sharat asked the Swami to stay with him longer, he replied: "My son, I have a great mission to fulfill. My guru asked me to dedicate my life to the regeneration of my motherland. Spirituality has fallen to a low ebb and starvation stalks the land. India must become dynamic again and earn the respect of the world through her spiritual power.

One day during his travels in the Himalayas, Vivekananda sat for meditation under a Pipal tree by the side of a stream. There he experienced the oneness of the universe and man – that man in the universe in miniature. He realized that all that exists in the universe also exists in the body, and further, that the entire universe can be found contained in a single atom. He jotted down this experience in a notebook: "In the beginning was the word, etc. The microcosm and the macrocosm are built on the same plan. Just as the individual soul is encased in the living body, so is the Universal Soul in the living Prakriti (Nature) – the objective universe…. The dual aspect of the Universal Soul is eternal. So what we perceive or feel is this combination of the Eternally Formed and the Eternally Formless.

During Vivekananda’s itinerant days, he had various kinds of spiritual experiences. Once in a vision he saw an old man standing on the bank of the Indus chanting Vedic hymns; he distinctly heard the invocation of the Gayatri mantram from the Rig Veda. The Swami believed that through this vision he had recovered the musical cadences of the early Aryans. He also experienced the presence of the Cosmic God in all beings.

Vivekananda visited Pavhari Baba, the famous yogi of Gazipur, and learned from him the secret of work: "Pay as much attention to the means of work as to its end." The yogi told him, "Live in the house of your guru like a cow," which means that one should cultivate the spirit of service and humility. There are many wonderful stories about Pavhari Baba. Once a cobra entered his cave; later, the yogi said to his frightened disciples, "It was a messenger who came from my beloved." Another day, a dog ran off with the yogi’s bread and he followed, praying humbly, "Please wait, my Lord; let me butter the bread for you."

While at Gazipur, Vivekananda suffered from stomach trouble and lumbago. He decided to take Hatha yoga initiation from Pavhari Baba in order to cure his ailment. However, that night Ramakrishna appeared before him, looking at him intently as if very grieved. This vision was repeated for twenty-one nights. He gave up the idea of initiation, reproaching himself for lacking complete faith in the Master.

Vivekananda travelled over almost all of India, mostly on foot, visiting places of history and pilgrimage. He was thus able to gain firsthand experience of the Indian people. Seeing the poor and deplorable conditions of the masses, he was at times moved to tears. He had suffered great poverty himself and had deep compassion for the suffering of others. Once he remarked, with his usual vigour, that a god who could not in this life give a crust of bread was not to be trusted in the next for the kingdom of heaven. He observed that religion was not the crying need of India, and recalled Sri Ramakrishna’s pithy saying: "Religion is not for an empty stomach."

In his travels, Vivekananda met the maharajas of Khetri, Alwar, Mysore, Ramnad, and many other dignitaries. He boldly told them that the prosperity of India depended upon uplifting the masses by introducing good education, modern science, and industry. However, they did not show sufficient interest. Later, he expressed his feelings: "May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls- and above all, my God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, is the special object of my worship."

In February 1891, Vivekananda arrived at Alwar, Rajputana (western India) and met Maharaja Mangal Singh. He was very westernized, and although a Hindu, had no faith in worshipping images that to him were nothing but clay or stone figurines. Swamiji tried in vain to explain to him that Hindus worshipped God alone, using the images as symbols. The maharaja was not convinced. Then Vivekananda asked the Prime Minister to take down a picture of the maharaja that was hanging on the wall.

At Vivekananda’s request it was handed to him. He then commanded the Prime Minister and others to spit on it. Everyone was horrified. He said to the audience: "Maharaja is not bodily present in the photograph. This is only a piece of paper. It does not contain his bones, flesh, and blood. It does not speak or behave or move in any way as the maharaja does, yet all of you refuse to spit on it, because you see in this photo the shadow of the maharaja. Indeed, in spitting on the photo, you feel that you insult your master, the Prince himself." Turning to the maharaja, he continued: "See, Your highness, though this is not you in one sense, in another sense it is you. That was why your devoted servants were so perplexed when I asked them to spit on it." The maharaja realized his mistake and begged Swamiji’s blessings.

While travelling in western and southern India, Vivekananda heard about the Parliament of Religions that was to be held in Chicago in 1893. A group of Indian rulers and influential people requested that he attend in order to represent Hinduism, the religion of Vedanta, but he refused. He was waiting for the Master’s call. In December 1892, at Kanyakumari, sitting on the last bit of Indian rock in the Indian ocean, he received his call to go to the West.

One day, while in Madras, Swamijee had a symbolic dream: He saw Sri Ramakrishna walking into the water of the ocean and beckoning him to follow. He also heard the command: "Go!" Although Swamijee was now certain of his journey, he still felt necessary to have Holy Mother Sarada Devi’s permission and blessing. He wrote to Swami Saradananda: "I have had a vision in which the Master told me to go to the West. My mind is quite disturbed. Please tell Holy Mother everything and let me know her opinion." Saradananda went to Holy Mother and read Swamiji’s letter to her. Holy Mother did not give her opinion immediately, but asked Saradananda to wait. After a couple of days, Holy Mother had a dream. She saw Ramakrishna walking over the ocean waves and asking Narendra to follow him. Then Holy Mother told Sardananda: "Please write to Naren that he should go to the West." Swamiji was overjoyed when he received Holy Mother’s approval and blessing.

In Madras, Vivekananda’s followers began to raise money and make the necessary arrangements for his departure. In the meantime, Raja Ajit Singh of Khetri, who was a disciple of Swamiji, asked him to come to Khetri and bless his newborn son. He also offered to provide the ticket for his passage to America. Swamiji consented and went to Khetri for the birthday function. One evening while he was there, the maharaja invited him to attend a musical performance by a dancing girl. However, Vivekananda sent word that, as a monk, he was not permitted to enjoy secular pleasures. The girl was hurt when she heard the message and sang this plaintive song, that reached the Swami’s ears:

Look not, O Lord, upon my sins!
Is not same-sightedness Thy name?
One piece of iron is in the image in the temple,
And another, the knife in the hand of the butcher;
Yet both of these are turned to gold
When touched by the philosopher’s stone.
So, Lord, look not upon my evil qualities….

Swamiji was deeply moved. This dancing girl, whom society condemned as impure, had taught him a great lesson: Brahman (the Supreme Reality), the ever pure, ever free, ever illumined, is the essence of all beings. He immediately realized his mistake and joined the party. He later said: "That incident removed the scales from my eyes. Seeing that all are indeed the manifestation of the One, I could no longer condemn anybody."

On his way to Mumbai (Bombay) Swamiji stopped at the Abu Road Station and met Swami Brahmananda and Swami Turiyananda. When he told them that he was going to America they were greatly excited. He explained to them: "I have now travelled all over India…. But alas, it was agony to me, my brothers, to see with my own eyes the terrible poverty and misery of the masses, and I could not restrain my tears! It is now my firm conviction that it is futile to preach religion amongst them without first trying to remove their poverty and sufferings. It is for this reason – to find more means for the salvation of the poor India – that I am now going to America."

Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 

_{(My humble salutations to  H H Swamy Chetananda and Hinduism dot com for the collection)}