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Sri Ramakrishna on Need of Guru and Faith in
Guru
Need of a Guru (Sunday,
April 9, 1882)
Neighbour: "Then householders, too, will have the vision
of God, won't they?"
Sri Ramakrishna : "Everybody will
surely be liberated. But one should follow the
instructions of the guru; if one follows a devious path,
one will suffer in trying to retrace one's steps. It
takes a long time to achieve liberation. A man may fail
to obtain it in this life. Perhaps he will realize God
only after many births. Sages like Janaka performed
worldly duties. They performed them, bearing God in
their minds, as a dancing-girl dances, keeping jars or
trays on her head. Haven't you seen how the women in
northwest India walk, talking and laughing while
carrying waterpitchers
on their beads?"
Neighbour: "You just referred to the instructions of the
guru. How shall we find him?"
Sri Ramakrishna
: "Anyone and
everyone cannot be a guru. A huge timber floats on the
water and can carry animals as well. But a piece of
worthless wood sinks, if a man sits on it, and drowns
him. Therefore in every age God incarnates Himself as
the guru, to teach humanity. Satchidananda alone is the
guru. "What is knowledge? And what is the nature of this
ego? 'God alone is the Doer, and none else' – that is
knowledge. I am not the doer; I am a mere instrument in
His hand.
Therefore I say: 'O Mother, Thou art the Operator and I
am the machine. Thou art the Indweller and I am the
house. Thou art the Driver and I am the carriage. I move
as Thou movest me. I do as Thou makest me do. I speak as
Thou
makest me speak. Not I, not I, but Thou, but Thou.' "
The need of a Guru (April 22, 1883)
Brahmo: "Is spiritual knowledge
impossible without a guru?"
Sri Ramakrishna
: "Satchidananda
alone is the Guru. If a man in the form of a guru
awakens spiritual consciousness in you, then know for
certain that it is God the Absolute who has assumed that
human form for your sake. The guru is like a companion
who leads you by the hand. After the realization of God,
one loses the distinction between the guru and the
disciple. 'That creates a very difficult situation;
there the guru and the disciple do not see each other.
It was for this reason that Janaka said to Sukadeva,
'Give me first my teacher's fee if you want me to
initiate you into the Knowledge of Brahman.' For the
distinction between the teacher and the disciple ceases
to exist after the disciple attains to Brahman. The
relationship between them remains as long as the
disciple does not see God."
Faith in the Guru
(Saturday, September 22, 1883)
Sri Ramakrishna
: "One must get
instruction from a guru. Once a man was looking for a
stone image of Siva. Someone said to him: 'Go to a
certain river. There you will find a tree. Near it is a
whirlpool. Dive into the water there, and you will find
the image of Siva.' So I say that one must get
instruction from a teacher."
Ishan: "That is true, sir."
Sri Ramakrishna
: "It is
Satchidananda that comes to us in the form of the guru.
If a man is initiated by a human guru, he will not
achieve anything if he regards his guru as a mere man.
The guru should be regarded as the direct manifestation
of God. Only then can the disciple have faith in the
mantra given by the guru. Once a man has faith he,
achieves all. The sudra Ekalavya learnt archery in the
forest before a clay image of Drona; He worshipped the
image as the living Drona; that by itself enabled him to
attain Mastery in archery.
"Don't mix intimately with brahmin pundits. Their only
concern is to earn money. I have seen brahmin priests
reciting the Chandi while performing the swastyayana. It
is hard to tell whether they are reading the sacred book
or something else. They turn half the pages without
reading them. (All laugh.)
"A nail-knife suffices to kill oneself. One needs sword
and shield to kill others. That is the purpose of the
sastras.
"One doesn't really need to study the different
scriptures. If one has no discrimination, one doesn't
achieve anything through mere scholarship, even though
one studies all the six systems of philosophy. Call on
God, crying to Him secretly in solitude. He will give
all that you need."
Faith in the guru
(Saturday, December 10, 1881)
A Devotee: "Then what is
the way for a householder?"
Sri Ramakrishna
: "Faith in the
guru's words. You should depend on his instruction. Do
your duties in the world, holding fast to his words,
like a person whirling round and holding fast to a
pillar. "One must not look on one's guru as a mere human
being: it is Satchidananda Himself who appears as the
guru. When the disciple has the vision of the Ishta,
through the guru's grace, he finds the guru merging in
Him. "What can one not achieve through simple faith!
Once there was an annaprasana ceremony in a guru's
house.
His disciples volunteered, according to their powers, to
supply the different articles of food. He had one
disciple, a very poor widow, who owned a cow. She milked
it and brought the guru a jar of milk. He had thought
she would take charge of all the milk and curd for the
festival. Angry at her poor offering, he threw the milk
away and said to her, 'Go and drown yourself.' The widow
accepted this as his command and went to the river to
drown herself.
But God was pleased with her guileless faith and,
appearing before her, said: 'Take thispot of curd. You
will never be able to empty it. The more curd you pour
out, the more will come from the pot. This will satisfy
your teacher.' The guru was speechless with amazement
when the pot was given to him. After hearing from the
widow the story of the pot, he went to the river, saying
to her, 'I shall drown myself if you cannot show God to
me.' God appeared then and there, but the guru could not
see Him.
Addressing God, the widow said, 'If my teacher gives up
his body because Thou dost not reveal Thyself to him,
then I too shall die.' So God appeared to the guru—but
only once. "Now you see, because of faith in her guru
the disciple herself had the vision of God and also
showed Him to her teacher. Therefore I say, 'Even though
my guru frequents a grog-shop, still to me he is the
embodiment of Eternal Bliss.' "All want to be the guru,
but very few indeed want to be the disciple. But you
know that rain-water doesn't collect on a high mound; it
collects in low land, in a hollow.
Company of holy men extolled
(Sunday, January 1, 1882)
The Master looked at the householder devotees seated
around him and said with a smile: "Why shouldn't it be
possible for a householder to give his mind to God? But
the truth is that he no longer has his mind with him. If
he had it, then he could certainly offer it to God. But,
alas, the mind has been mortgaged—mortgaged to 'woman
and gold'. So it is necessary for him constantly to live
in the company of holy men.
When, he gets back his own mind, then he can devote it
to spiritual practice; but first it is necessary to live
constantly with the guru, wait on him, and enjoy the
company of spiritual people. Either he should think of
God in solitude day and night, or he should live with
holy men. The mind left to itself gradually dries up.
Take a jar of water, for instance. If the jar is set
aside, the water dries up little by little. But that
will not happen if the jar is kept immersed in the
Ganges.
Source: from book "Gospel
of Sri Ramakrishna" (opens in new window)
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