a sweet and simple way of imparting deep inner truths

Spiritual masters often teach through the medium of stories and parables – a sweet and simple way of imparting deep inner truths. These stories are like little lamps that keep the road before us bright and safe. They serve to remind us of who we truly are and encourage us to move forward toward the goal of enlightenment.

Sri Ramakrishna (1836 – 1886) was a spiritual master of the highest order who was born and lived his entire live in Bengal (now Bangaladesh), India. He was the Guru (spiritual teacher) of the renowned Swami Vivekananda who was the first of India’s great spiritual figures to travel to America. Vivekananda aroused tremendous spiritual fervour at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893 and wherever he spoke.

In the passages below, Sri Ramakrishna is addressing one of his dearest disciples, Mahendranath Gupta - or ‘M’ as he humbly called himself. M was blessed with a prodigious memory and was able to record Ramakrishna’s divine utterances verbatim after hearing them from his Master’s lips. He was the author of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita – The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Originally penned in Bengali, this great work was later translated into English by Swami Nikhilananda who was a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna’s consort, Sarada Devi.

An following is an excerpt from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna that I find very inspiring. It is about seeing ourselves as we really are. M writes of himself in the third person – something he did throughout the entire book.

Sri Ramakrishna asked M., “Well, what is the cause of bhakti (devotion)? Why should the spiritual feelings of young boys like Bhavanath (a young student of the master) be awakened?”

M remained silent.

Master: “The fact is, all men look alike from the outside, but some of them have fillings of ‘condensed milk.’ Cakes may have fillings of condensed milk or powdered black grams (a spice), but they all look alike from the outside. The desire to know God, ecstatic love for Him, and such other spiritual qualities are the ‘condensed milk.’”

Sri Ramakrishna spoke reasurringly to the devotees.

Master (to M.): “Some think: ‘Oh, I am a bound soul. I shall never acquire knowledge (of God) and devotion.’ But if one receives the guru’s grace, one has nothing to fear.

Once a tigress attacked a flock of goats. As she sprang on her prey, she gave birth to a cub and died. The cub grew up in the company of the goats. The goats ate grass and the cub followed their example. They bleated; the cub bleated too. Gradually it grew to be a big tiger. One day another tiger attacked the same flock. It was amazed to see the grass-eating tiger. Running after it, the wild tiger at last seized it, whereupon the grass-eating tiger began to bleat. The wild tiger dragged it to the water and said, ‘Look at your face in the water. It is just like mine. Here is a little meat. Eat it.’ Saying this, it thrust some meat into its mouth. But the grass-eating tiger would not swallow it and began to bleat again. Gradually, however, it got the taste for blood and came to relish the meat. Then the wild tiger said, ‘Now you see that there is no difference between you and me. Come along and follow me into the forest.’”

Ramakrishna continued: “So there can be no fear if the guru’s grace decends upon one. He will let you know who you are and what your real nature is. If the student practices spiritual discipline a little, the guru explains everything to him. Then the student understands for himself what is real and what is unreal. God alone is real, the world is illusory.”

For me, Sri Ramakrishna’s reference to the world being illusory points to the fact that by becoming immersed in the ordinary events and trappings of life, we often forget our true nature. It is the guru’s love and guidance that dispells this fog of illusion and clears the way for a brighter day and a more fulfilling future – the fulfilment of our soul’s special mission. This has always been the role of the spiritual Masters – to remind humanity of its true nature.

As my friend Jogyata often states, “We are spiritual beings having a human experience – not human beings having a spiritual experience.” If we view ourselves as spiritual beings, we develop our real nature and become that reality.