Anecdote in Ramakrishna's life

"There is a charming anecdote in the life of Ramakrishna of one of the wandering monks who used to visit the temple at Dakshineswar on the Ganges, where he lived. He used to come out of his cell twice a day and sit on the edge of the Ganges as though he were a spectator in the theater, and clap his hands and say, "Bravo! Excellent!" as though the whole universe were an enormous theatrical performance."
-- Christopher Isherwood, James J. Berg, and Claude Summers (2007), Isherwood on Writing: The Lectures in California, Univ Of Minnesota Press, p.65 ISBN 978-0816646937

master oogway on destiny

one often meets one's destiny on the path taken to avoid it. -- Master Oogway

Edgar Cayce Reading 2683-1

. . each soul has a mission in the earth, and is in expression a manifestation of the thought of God, of the First Cause. Thus all stand upon an equal basis before Him.
Then, ye have no right to condemn self or to judge others.
Let all be done rather, then, as an appreciation of the love, the thought as may be expressed in appreciation to that Creative Force called God.
And the greater lessons may be learned from His manifested activity in the earth through Christ Jesus.

Edgar Cayce Reading 2683-1

A Letter of Swami Ramakrishnananda

Thiruvalikeni [Triplicane, Chennai]
14.08.1904

Dear friend Chokkalingam Pillai,

I was glad to go through your letter describing your mental state. It is extremely good that you want to become a genuine Yogi. But even before you try to become a Yogi, it is absolutely necessary to do certain things. Is it possible to build a house before the construction of the foundation? First, you have to do your duty to your soul, and to your wife and children, if you have any. You have to do your duty to your relations, friends and neighbours. You have to be charitable, honest in earning wealth and truthful. Not only that; your soul and body itself should have intense devotion and love for God. You have to continue like this till you acquire all the virtues mentioned above. You should certainly know that people do not have the right to enter the house of Yoga till the body and mind become extremely pure. Yoga is not controlling the breath, doing pranayama or practising certain special ‘postures’. Annihilating all the desires in the mind is yoga. Only pure-minded persons can throw out the results of evil desires from their mind. Therefore, my dear friend, you should always try to become pure-hearted by doing properly your duties to your parents, wife and children, friends and neighbours. First of all you should try to become an ideal householder. Only then you can truly become a Yogi. Otherwise, it will never be possible.

With loving blessings, your dear friend.

Ramakrishnananda

(Source : Vedanta Kesari, January 2009, p.37)

Concentration and Breathing

( Excerpt from : Concentration and Breathing )

In training the mind the first step is to begin with the breathing. Regular breathing puts the body in a harmonious condition; and it is then easier to reach the mind. In practicing breathing, the first thing to consider is Âsana or posture. Any posture in which a person can sit easily is his proper position. The spine should be kept free, and the weight of the body should be supported by the ribs. Do not try by contrivances to control the mind; simple breathing is all that is necessary in that line. All austerities to gain concentration of the mind are a mistake. Do not practice them.

The mind acts on the body, and the body in its turn acts upon the mind. They act and react upon each other. Every mental state creates a corresponding state in the body, and every action in the body has its corresponding effect on the mind. It makes no difference whether you think the body and mind are two different entities, or whether you think they are both but one body— the physical body being the gross part and the mind the fine part. They act and react upon each other. The mind is constantly becoming the body. In the training of the mind, it is easier to reach it through the body. The body is easier to grapple with than the mind.

The finer the instrument, the greater the power. The mind is much finer and more powerful than the body. For this reason it is easier to begin with the body.

The science of breathing is the working through the body to reach the mind. In this way we get control of the body, and then we begin to feel the finer working of the body, the finer and more interior, and so on till we reach the mind. As we feel the finer workings of the body, they come under our control. After a while you will be able to feel the operation of the mind on the body. You will also feel the working of one half of the mind upon the other half, and also feel the mind recruiting the nerve centres; for the mind controls and governs the nervous system. You will feel the mind operating along the different nerve currents.

Thus the mind is brought under control—by regular systematic breathing, by governing the gross body first and then the fine body.

The first breathing exercise is perfectly safe and very healthful. It will give you good health, and better your condition generally at least. The other practices should be taken up slowly and carefully.

Excerpts from "The Methods and Purpose of Religion"

( Excerpt from : The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda ~ Volume 6 ~ Lectures and Discourses ~ The Methods and Purpose of Religion )

That is the one principle of Vedanta. Vedanta declares that religion is here and now, because the question of this life and that life, of life and death, this world and that world, is merely one of superstition and prejudice. There is no break in time beyond what we make. What difference is there between ten and twelve o'clock, except what we make by certain changes in nature? Time flows on the same. So what is meant by this life or that life? It is only a question of time, and what is lost in time may be made up by speed in work. So, says Vedanta, religion is to be realised now. And for you to become religious means that you will start without any religion work your way up and realise things, see things for yourself; and when you have done that, then, and then alone, you have religion. Before that you are no better than atheists, or worse, because the atheist is sincere—he stands up and says, "I do not know about these things—while those others do not know but go about the world, saying, "We arc very religious people." What religion they have no one knows, because they have swallowed some grandmother's story, and priests have asked them to believe these things; if they do not, then let them take care. That is how it is going.

Realisation of religion is the only way. Each one of us will have to discover. Of what use are these books, then, these Bibles of the world? They are of great use, just as maps are of a country. I have seen maps of England all my life before I came here, and they were great helps to me informing some sort of conception of England. Yet, when I arrived in this country, what a difference between the maps and the country itself! So is the difference between realisation and the scriptures. These books are only the maps, the experiences of past men, as a motive power to us to dare to make the same experiences and discover in the same way, if not better.

This is the first principle of Vedanta, that realisation is religion, and he who realises is the religious man; and he who does not is no better than he who says, "I do not know", if not worse, because the other says, "I do not know", and is sincere. In this realisation, again, we shall be helped very much by these books, not only as guides, but as giving instructions and exercises; for every science has its own particular method of investigation. You will find many persons in this world who will say. "I wanted to become religious, I wanted to realise these things, but I have not been able, so I do not believe anything." Even among the educated you will find these. Large numbers of people will tell you, "I have tried to be religious all my life, but there is nothing in it." At the same time you will find this phenomenon: Suppose a man is a chemist, a great scientific man. He comes and tells you this. If you say to him, "I do not believe anything about chemistry, because I have all my life tried to become a chemist and do not find anything in it", he will ask, "When did you try?" "When I went to bed, I repeated, 'O chemistry, come to me', and it never came." That is the very same thing. The chemist laughs at you and says, "Oh, that is not the way. Why did you not go to the laboratory and get all the acids and alkalis and burn your hands from time to time? That alone would have taught you." Do you take the same trouble with religion? Every science has its own method of learning, and religion is to be learnt the same way. It has its own methods, and here is something we can learn, and must learn, from all the ancient prophets of the world, every one who has found something, who has realised religion. They will give us the methods, the particular methods, through which alone we shall be able to realise the truths of religion. They struggled all their lives, discovered particular methods of mental culture, bringing the mind to a certain state, the finest perception, and through that they perceived the truths of religion. To become religious, to perceive religion, feel it, to become a prophet, we have to take these methods and practice them; and then if we find nothing, we shall have the right to say, "There is nothing in religion, for I have tried and failed."