Chapter
24
SHRISH:
"God exists and He alone does everything. But the attributes we ascribe
to Him are not the right ones. How can a man conceive of Him? His nature is
infinite."
MASTER: "What need is there of your counting the number of trees and
branches in an orchard? You have come to the orchard to eat mangoes. Do that
and be happy.
Here we find Sirish telling Thakur
what is wrong etc. He was not seeking.
Chapter 25
PRATAP: "Why does Brahman project the form?"
MASTER: "You ask why? Brahman doesn't act in consultation with others.
It is Brahman's pleasure. Brahman is self-willed. Why should we try to know
the reason for Brahman's acting this way or that? You have come to the
orchard to eat mangoes. Eat the mangoes. What is the good of calculating how
many trees there are in the orchard, how many thousands of branches, and how
many millions of leaves? One cannot realize Truth by futile arguments and
reasoning."
PRATAP: "Shouldn't we reason any more then?"
MASTER: "I am asking you not to indulge in futile reasoning. But reason,
by all means, about the Real and the unreal, about what is permanent and what
is transitory. You must reason when you are overcome by lust, anger, or
grief."
Here we find Pratap repeating his
question even after Thakur replied that “Bramhan doesn’t act in consultation
with others” which is a futile reasoning.
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Chapter 34
BANKIM: …”How can we know of God
without knowing something of this world? We should first learn from
books."
MASTER: …."The one thing you need is to realize God. Why do you bother
so much about the world, creation, 'science', and all that? Your business is
to eat mangoes. What need have you to know how many hundreds of trees there
are in the orchard, how many thousands of branches, and how many millions of
leaves? You have come to the garden to eat mangoes. Go and eat them. Man is
born in this world to realize God; it is not good to forget that and divert
the mind to other things. You have come to eat mangoes. Eat the mangoes and
be happy."
BANKIM: "Where do we get the mangoes?"
MASTER: "Pray to God with a longing heart. He will surely listen to your
prayer if it is sincere. Perhaps He will direct you to holy men with whom you
can keep company; and that will help you on your spiritual path. Perhaps
someone will tell you, 'Do this and you will attain God.'"
Here He was not shutting Bankim up – He actually gave the answer to Bankim’s
satisfaction.
BANKIM: …”How can we know of God without knowing something of this world? We
should first learn from books."
MASTER: …."The one thing you need is to realize God. Why do you bother
so much about the world, creation, 'science', and all that? Your business is
to eat mangoes. What need have you to know how many hundreds of trees there
are in the orchard, how many thousands of branches, and how many millions of
leaves? You have come to the garden to eat mangoes. Go and eat them. Man is
born in this world to realize God; it is not good to forget that and divert
the mind to other things. You have come to eat mangoes. Eat the mangoes and
be happy."
BANKIM: "Where do we get the mangoes?"
MASTER: "Pray to God with a longing heart. He will surely listen to your
prayer if it is sincere. Perhaps He will direct you to holy men with whom you
can keep company; and that will help you on your spiritual path. Perhaps
someone will tell you, 'Do this and you will attain God.'"
Here He was not shutting Bankim up –
He actually gave the answer to Bankim’s satisfaction.
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Chapter 43
PASUPATI: "Sir, what do you
think of Theosophy and Spiritualism? Are these true? What do you think of the
solar plane, the lunar plane, the stellar plane?"
MASTER: "My dear sir, I don't know about these things. Why bother about
them so much? You have come to the orchard to eat mangoes. Enjoy them. What
is the use of your calculating how many mango-trees there are, how many
millions of branches, how many billions of leaves? I have come to the orchard
to eat mangoes. Let me enjoy them
Here he simply avoided to be
interviewed which is not same as seeking
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Chapter 44
VAISHNAVA: "I could believe in rebirth only if an eye-witness told me
about it."
MASTER: "I don't know about that, my dear sir. I cannot cure my own
illness, and you ask me to tell you what happens after death! What you are
talking about only shows your petty mind. Try to cultivate love of God. You
are born as a human being only to attain divine love. You have come to the
orchard to eat mangoes; what need is there of knowing how many thousands of
branches and millions of leaves there are in the orchard? To bother about what
happens after death! How silly!"
Here Vaishnava doubted Thakur’s
knowledge out of his arrogance and Thakur had to crush that
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Chapter 47
SHYAM: "Sir, if God alone does everything, how is it that man is
punished for his sins?"
MASTER: "How like a goldsmith you talk!"
NARENDRA: "In other words, Shyam Babu has a calculating mind, like a
goldsmith, who Weighs things with his delicate balance."
MASTER: "I say: O my foolish boy, eat the mangoes and be happy. What is
the use of your calculating how many hundreds of trees, how many thousands of
branches, and how many millions of leaves there are in the orchard? You have
come to the orchard to eat mangoes. Eat them and be contented.
Here even young Narendra understood
the ulterior objective of the question which was not seeking.
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Chapter 48
DOCTOR: "You see, Dr. Behari Bhaduri always harps on the same thing. He
says that Goethe's spirit came out of his body and that Goethe himself saw
it. It must have been very amazing."
M: "As Sri Ramakrishna says, what shall we gain from these discussions?
We have been born in this world in order to cultivate devotion to the Lotus
Feet of God. He tells us the story of a man who entered an orchard to eat
mangoes. But instead of eating the fruit, he took out pencil and paper and
began to jot down the number of trees, branches, and leaves in the orchard. A
servant saw him and asked: 'What are you doing? Why have you come here?' The
man said: 'I have come here to eat mangoes. I am now counting the trees,
branches, and leaves in the orchard.' Thereupon the servant replied: 'If you
have come here to eat mangoes, then enjoy
them. What will you gain by counting the trees, branches, and leaves?'
Here M used it as irrelevantly as what
the doctor said.
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