MEDITATION

Sri Ramakrishna never used to spend the night in sleep, nor would he allow the young devotees who stayed with to sleep long. When others had gone to bed, he would wake up His disciples, give them definite instructions and send them to the Panchavati, or the Mother’s Temple, or to Shiva’s Temple for meditation. They would spend the whole night in sadhana, as directed and take rest during the day. This was the way that Sri Ramakrishna taught His disciples the various spiritual exercises.

Master used to say : “Three classes of people keep awake in the night – Yogis, Bhogis (seekers of enjoyments) and Rogis (sick persons). You are all yogis. You should by no means sleep away the night.”
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GURU AND DISCIPLE

There are two quotations that Swami Brahmananda used to repeat to his disciples regularly:

“Tell the truth, but never a harsh truth.” The second was from the teachings of Sri Chaitanya:
Be humbler than a blade of grass,
Be patient and forbearing like the the tree,
Take no honour to thyself,
Give honour to all,
Chant unceasingly the Name of the Lord.

Swami Vivekananda once said: “A real guru knows, the past, present, and the future of all his disciples.” Swami Brahmananda knew this about each one of his disciples. Below is an example of an incident Swami Prabhavananda relates:

I was sitting cross-legged in front of Maharaj, with his feet resting on my knees. This was the position in which I often used to massage his feet. Then something happened to me, which I cannot explain. I found myself in a condition in which I was talking, and talking, forgetting my usual restraint, It seemed to me that I spoke freely for a long time, but I do not remember what I said. Maharaj listened and said nothing.

Suddenly I returned to normal consciousness and became aware of Maharaj leaning towards me, and asked me what I said. I then realized, I addressed him as “tumi” (term used for you, when addressing friends and equals). I quickly corrected myself by using apani (respectful form of you).

“I can only assume that Maharaj wanted to corroborate his own intuitive knowledge of my past lives, and he therefore put me into this unusual state of consciousness, in which I was able to tell him what he wanted to know.

Jai Thakur!

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Guru and Disciple

Sri Ramakrishna Himself often rebuked His most intimate disciples, and Maharaj also used this method to train those who were near and dear to him. The chastening of a disciple never began, however, until after he enjoyed several years of love and kind words. These experiences were painful at the time, but they were later treasured among the the disciple’s sweetest memories. It often happened that even while the disciple was being reproached by Maharaj, he would (disciple)
would feel a strange undercurrent of joy.

The harsher the words, the more intensely we felt his interest in our welfare. The very fact that could speak to us in this way proved that we his children , his own.

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INITIATION

Holy Mother once complained that Maharaj did not accept enough disciples . It so happened that just then Maharaj was invited to see a play about the life of Ramanuja which was written by one of his own disciples. In this drama, there is a scene which expresses Ramanuja’s great love for mankind. The action is as follows:

Ramanuja’s guru initiates him with a sacred mantram and warns him never to reveal it anyone.
“What will happen if I do”? Ramanuja asks, and his Guru replies: “Whoever hears this mantram will be liberated from bondage of his ignorance, but you will suffer damnations. Ramanuja gathers a crowd around him and utters the sacred mantram for all to hear. Ramanuja’s guru pretends to be angry and rebukes him for his disobedience.

Ramanuja answers: “If my damnation can liberate so many people, then my supreme desire is to be damned.” His guru was delighted indeed and blessed him. This drama and Holy Mother’s remarked made a deep impression upon Maharaj. He then initiated many more disciples.

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DOING GOOD

When Swami Vivekananda returned to India, he talked to his brother disciples, giving a new expression to the ideals for which Sri Ramakrishna had stood. It is not enough, he said, to devote your entire life to the realization of God for yourself alone. You must also live “For the Good of all, for the happiness of all.”

Swamijee wished his brothers to combine the contemplative life, with the life of service to mankind. Swami Brahmananda was the first to recognise the depth and the scope of Swamijee’s ideals and gave them his full support. On 1st May 1897, Swamijee called a meeting of the monastic and lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. At this meeting, the organization known as the Ramakrishna Mission was formed. Swami Brahmananda was elected president of the Calcutta Centre. Before Swamijee’s passing away, Swami Brahmananda was made head of the Order and he held that office for more than twenty years, until his own death. During his lifetime the Mission and its ideals grew from strength to a Gigantic Banyan tree, that shelters Millions of God seeking souls and gives solace to all.

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