Kathamrita, 97th Visit of M. 3-Jul-1884 Vol 4, Chap 3
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Practicing spiritual disciplines is more essential than learning
With the devotees seated close by, Sri Ramakrishna is talking with M.
Sri Ramakrishna (to M.): “What do you think of Shashadhar?”
M.: “Sir, he is a good man.”
Sri Ramakrishna: “He’s intelligent, isn’t he?”
M.: “Yes, Sir. He’s a real scholar.”
Sri Ramakrishna: “According to the Gita, one who is respected and accepted by many has the power of God within. But there’s a little work he has yet to do.
“What use is mere scholarship? Some austerity is necessary. One has to practice some spiritual disciplines.”
His earlier story – spiritual practices of Pundit Gauri and Narayan Shastri – meeting with Keshab at the Belgharia garden in 1875 – arrival of Captain in 1876-77
“Gauri Pundit practiced spiritual disciplines. When he chanted a hymn to the Divine Mother, scholars would seem to be no more than earthworms.
“Narayan Shastri also was not just a pundit; he also practiced spiritual disciplines.
“Narayan Shastri studied continuously for twenty-five years. For seven years he studied the Nyaya system of philosophy. Even then he would go into ecstasy repeating, ‘Hara, Hara.’ The king of Jaipur wanted to make him his court pundit, but he didn’t accept the position. He often came and stayed at Dakshineswar. He had a great desire to go to the Vasishtha Ashrama to practice austerities. He would often tell me about wanting to go there. I forbade him. He said, ‘Who knows when I may die? When will I perform spiritual practices? The pot may crack at any time.’ When he persisted, I let him go.
“I hear from some that Narayan Shastri has quit his body. Perhaps he received a slap from Bhairava while practicing austerities. And there are others who say, ‘He is alive. We have just seen him off in a train.’
“Before meeting Keshab Sen, I asked Narayan Shastri, ‘Please go once and see what kind of person he is.’ After visiting Keshab, he returned and said, ‘That fellow is perfect in japa.’ He knew astrology and said, ‘Keshab Sen has a good destiny. I spoke to him in Sanskrit and he talked in Bengali.’
“Then I went with Hriday and met him in the Belgharia garden house. As soon I saw him, I said, ‘He has cast off his tail. He can now live in water as well as on dry land.’
“Keshab sent three Brahmos to the temple to examine me. Prasanna was one of them. They were to watch me day and night and then report to Keshab. They were with me at night in my room. They constantly repeated, ‘Compassionate One’ and said to me, ‘You should follow Keshab Babu. It will benefit you.’ I told them, ‘I believe in God with form.’ Even then they kept on repeating, ‘Compassionate One, Compassionate One!’ Then a mood came over me. I said, ‘Leave this place.’ I didn’t let them stay in my room at all. They went out and slept on the verandah.
“When Captain saw me for the first time, he also stayed the night.”
Michael Madhusudana and conversation with Narayan Shastri
“Michael visited here when Narayan Shastri was present. Dwarika Babu, Mathur’s eldest son, had brought him. A lawsuit was in the offing with the owners of the magazine next door so the proprietors of the temple had brought Michael to the garden to seek his advice.
“There is a big room next to the [temple] office. I saw Michael there. I asked Narayan Shastri to talk to him. Michael couldn’t speak well in Sanskrit and kept making mistakes. So they talked in the vernacular (Bengali).
“Narayan Shastri asked, ‘Why did you give up your religion?’ Pointing to his belly, Michael said, ‘I had to give up because of this.’
“Narayan Shastri said, ‘What conversation can I have with one who gives up his faith for the sake of the stomach?’ Madhusudana then said to me, ‘Please tell me something.’
“I said, ‘I don’t know why, but I don’t feel like saying anything. It is like somebody is shutting my mouth.’”
‘Lust and greed’ can deprive a pundit of his intelligence – worship and rituals of a worldly person
Choudhury Babu was expected to pay a visit to Thakur.
Manomohan: “Choudhury won’t be coming. He said he was expecting a Bengali (Shashadhar) from Faridpur, so had dropped the idea of coming.”
Sri Ramakrishna: “How mean! He has the arrogance of learning. On top of that, he has married a second time. He considers the world an insignificant earthen bowl.”
Choudhury holds an M.A. He developed great dispassion on the death of his first wife, when he would visit Thakur often at Dakshineswar. He has married a second time and is now earning three to four hundred rupees a month.
Sri Ramakrishna (to the devotees): “Attachment to ‘lust and greed’ robs a person of understanding. When Haramohan came to see me for the first time, he had good signs. I would long to see him. He must have been seventeen or eighteen then. These days when I invite him, he doesn’t turn up. He is living in a separate house now with his wife. He used to live with his maternal uncle and was fine. He had no problems of running a household then. Now, having established a new home, he has to go daily to the market for his wife. (All laugh.) The other day he came to Dakshineswar. I said to him, ‘Go away. Leave this place. I don’t feel like touching you.’”
Kartabhaja Chandra (Chatterji) has arrived. He is sixty or sixty-five years old. He recites verses of the Kartabhaja sect quite fluently. He goes to gently stroke Thakur’s feet, but Thakur doesn’t let him touch his feet. He says laughingly, “Now you are acting prudently.”
Sri Ramakrishna goes to Balaram’s inner apartments to see Lord Jagannath. The women of the family are anxious to see him in their quarters.
Now Thakur returns to the parlour, smiling. He says, “I changed my clothes that I used in the toilet and then went for the darshan of Jagannath. I offered some flowers.
“The worship, japa, and austerities of worldly people are only for the moment. Those who know nothing but God repeat His name with every breath. Some unceasingly chant the name ofRama, or Om Rama mentally. People who follow the path of knowledge also repeat ‘So ’ham’ (I am He). The tongues of some people are always moving.
“Indeed there must be constant remembrance and contemplation of God.”
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